I attended the kick-off of Police Week yesterday. This year’s theme is one that is very important to the Toronto Police Services Board, “Working with Today’s Youth to Build Safer Communities”.
Here are my remarks.
Mayor Miller, Chief Blair, Mr. William Mendes, honoured guests, members of the Toronto Police Service and members of the community:
On behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, I want to welcome you all here today to celebrate the kick-off to this year’s Police Week, an important May tradition for police and community members across the province. Police Week gives us an opportunity to increase community awareness and recognition of policing services. It is a time when people can come together to talk about and to take part in crime prevention in their communities.This year’s theme, “Working with Today’s Youth to Build Safer Communities”, is appropriate and timely.
For the Toronto Police Services Board, this is an incredibly important and relevant theme. Focusing on the youth of Toronto is a priority for us, and a very important component of our long-standing emphasis on community policing. And through policy and programming, we have demonstrated our commitment to this priority.
Our policy on community consultation requires that all divisional community police liaison committees and Chief’s consultative and advisory committees must include young people. I am pleased that the Board has readily provided funding for a newly established Chief’s Youth Advisory Committee.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work that Mr. Mendes has been doing to ensure meaningful participation of young people in the CPLCs. Thank you, William.
Besides ensuring youth involvement in community safety through its policies, the Board has also initiated important programming initiatives to enable young people throughout our communities and neighbourhoods to be active participants in building safe communities as well as to develop positive links with the police service.
In August 2005, the Board earmarked a minimum of $100,000 every year for five years to fund cooperative police-community initiatives toward the prevention of youth violence. The initiatives that we have funded so far are inspiring and demonstrate the importance of successful police-community relations.
The Board has also played a pivotal role in establishing an innovative summer employment program for young people from at-risk neighbourhoods. Created in 2006 in partnership with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, this program provides jobs for 100 youth every summer. I am delighted that the Ontario government has decided to fund this important program in perpetuity.
The Board not only directed that such a program be created, but worked closely and cooperatively with the police service to make it a reality.
Finally, I want to mention the Board’s Advisory Panel on Community Safety. Established to advise the Board on issues of community safety that it should act on or advocate for, it includes several young people as members.
Through initiatives such as these we can truly and concretely engage young people in maintaining and promoting community safety.This Police Week, with its focus on youth, is a tremendous opportunity to recognize that young people are a critical resource and a crucial partner in the important project of building a safe and healthy community.
Once again, on behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, I am pleased to bring best wishes for a successful Police Week.
Thank you.
