Chair Mukherjee’s Blog Returns

Several people have asked me if I would be resuming my blog. I am pleased to be back after a few months’ hiatus! Here is the first blog of 2009.

Alok Mukherjee
Chair, Toronto Police Services Board

The Federal Government’s Anti-Crime Legislation and
A Public Health Approach to Community Safety

On February 26, Prime Minister Harper held a news conference in Vancouver during which he announced that his government would introduce tough new anti-crime legislation. According to the Prime Minister, this new legislation will prevent crime and make Canadian streets safer by cracking down on gangs and extending prison sentences.

The new legislation will make gang-related killings a first-degree murder offence and give mandatory minimum sentences for drive-by shootings. It will also provide additional protection for police and peace officers. The proposed legislation would create new offences for both aggravated assault against a police officer and assault with a weapon against a police officer. These crimes would each carry 14-year sentences.

Opinion is divided, both among politicians and criminologists, as to whether lengthier sentences increase public safety. Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal MP for Vancouver South and former public safety critic, said that while "tougher sentences are appropriate," the government must also focus on preventing people from getting involved in criminal activities in the first place. Similar views have been expressed by members of the other Opposition parties.

University of Ottawa criminologist Irwin Waller expressed the view that more jail time will not curb the kind of violence that the government wants to halt. "This is yet again a debate about penalties when it's very clear from looking south of the border that these penalties do not make a lot of difference to the number of people killed," Waller told The Canadian Press.

There is broad consensus that tough penalties and forceful enforcement of the Criminal Code alone do not make streets safer. These must go hand in hand with equally significant preventive measures. The Toronto Police Services Board has made this point repeatedly. The Board has invested considerable human and financial resources into preventive efforts.

And now, support for the importance of prevention comes from another source.

Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, speaks eloquently about the need for a public health approach to community safety in his annual report, “Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2008.”

Dr. Butler-Jones says that the role of public health is “to work with individuals and communities to identify and address the factors affecting overall physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being.” According to him, the police have a very important role to play in promoting and ensuring public health, especially of the youth. He comments:

In addition to their public safety responsibilities, the police community has an important role to play in the public’s health, particularly with respect to youth. The police community is often our closest link to society’s most vulnerable and unhealthy population, including at-risk and street youth. When we look at some of the determinants of crime – poverty, family violence, inadequate schooling, social exclusion, inappropriate peer association, poor academic achievement, low self-esteem – what we are also looking at is the determinants of poor health. The notion of crime prevention through social development has been fully embraced by the police community and is an opportunity to focus on up-stream efforts such as youth mentorship and asset development, in an effort to prevent future potential crime.

According to Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, developmental assets “represent the relationships, opportunities and personal qualities that young people need to avoid risks and to thrive.” He asserts that “the more assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviours (including drug and alcohol use) and the more likely they are to thrive. Assets have power for all young people, regardless of their gender, economic status, family situation or ethnicity.”

In terms of benefits from asset development among young people from an early age, Dr. Butler-Jones cites research showing that “$1 spent in the early years saves between $3 and $9 in future spending on the health and criminal justice systems, as well as social assistance.”

Dr. Butler-Jones cites several examples of programs initiated by Canada’s police community to do its share to promote asset development among youth. The benefits, as the Chief Public Health Officer points out, are enormous.

March 18, 2009

14 MONTHS. 90+ BLOGS.

Fourteen months ago, I launched this blog. It started with an entry on the start of the collective bargaining process with the Toronto Police Association.

I had no idea where this blogging adventure would take me.

Fourteen months later and I continue to be amazed by the feedback I get from regular readers and people who have recently come across it. I have heard from TPS members, members of other police services, former students from my time at York University and various other residents of this great city.

Overwhelmingly, the feedback has been positive, except for those – and you know who you are – who were worried about what I might write.

Here are a few facts that you might not know:

• I believe this is the first blog to be used by an employer during a collective bargaining process. Typically, employers stick to traditional method of communications. We opted for something less traditional and, dare I say, more effective.

• While this blog has been used to communicate collective bargaining issues and notable items regarding the TPS, its greatest use has been to raise awareness of the need for a handgun ban. The largest number of blog entries, unfortunately, relate to violence and the federal government’s continued refusal to bring forth a handgun ban.

• We were featured twice as the “Best of the Blogs” in the Toronto Sun.

With that in mind, I present to you my 5 favourite blogs so far…..

5. Random Acts of Kindness - A very inspiring story about one police officer's effort to build positive relations by his attention to the needs of one family in inner-city Toronto.

4. Diversity at the Toronto Police Service and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers. These two blogs highlight something that is so important to me and the entire TPSB – a diverse police service that reflects the diversity of the residents that it serves.

3. Welcoming Gen Y – Who knew that this next generation would provide so many challenges and opportunities for today’s employers?

2. Remembrance and RCMP Constable Douglas Scott – These blogs, while difficult to write, reminded me and (hopefully) the blog readers about the importance of remembering those men and women, here in Toronto, across Canada and around the world who serve.

1. Arbitration Order – This blog marked the end of a very long and very tiresome set of negotiations. I am thrilled to have it behind us so we can now focus all of our resources on providing the best policing services to the residents of Toronto.

You may wonder why none of the handgun ban blogs made it to the Top 5. It is because there are far too many to choose from. You can read all of them here. I will continue to use this blog to try and focus the attention of the federal government on this critical issue. In the meantime, one of the best things you can do is to go to the Mayor’s website and sign the petition.

Finally I’d like to give a shout out to everyone who suggested ideas, drew my attention to interesting stories, gently shot down my more off the wall pieces and gave me honest feedback. Thank you all!

Have a great New Year and I look forward to sharing more blogs with you in 2009.

Best,
Alok

ARBITRATION ORDER

STATEMENT FROM ALOK MUKHERJEE, CHAIR
TORONTO POLICE SERVICES BOARD


This morning, the Interest Board of Arbitration issued an order concerning the renewal of the collective agreement for Toronto Police Service members represented by the Toronto Police Association (TPA). The order brings to a close a process that began some 13 months ago.

The Toronto Police Services Board would like to thank Arbitrator William Kaplan and the other members of the Interest Board of Arbitration for their hard work and efforts in resolving this matter.

The Arbitrator’s order settles the TPA collective agreements for 2008, 2009 and 2010 as follows:

o A cost increase of 9.9% over a three-year period (which due to staging is a 10.309% wage increase), from 2008-2010. By the end of 2010, a first class constable will earn $81,249.00 which will be $238 more than a first class constable from Peel Regional Police;
Establishment of a non-cumulative annual heath care spending account for retirees over the age of 65 and until they reach age 75, in the amount of $2500 for 2009, increasing to $3000 in 2010; and,
Minor improvements in a few other areas, such as vision care.

The order does not award Family Day as an additional benefit. However, for 2008 only, it provides one additional lieu day to full time members (or a part thereof for part-time members).

I am pleased that nothing in the order impedes the Chief of Police’s ability to effectively and efficiently manage the delivery of policing services.
The TPSB recognizes that this award comes at a time when the City of Toronto and the wider economy face challenges and uncertainty. The Toronto Police Services Board is satisfied that the Arbitrators’ award strikes a balance between improvements to the Collective Agreement and the current financial reality. The wage increase is consistent with the Board’s proposal of a 3% increase per year made to the Association in February of this year.

Happy Holidays

As we come to the end of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to look back on 2008 and to look forward to the year ahead of us.

The Board is extremely proud of the members of the Toronto Police Service who, on a daily basis, work for and with our community to make Toronto a safer and healthier place to live. We see evidence of partnerships between police and the community all around us, from programs engaging our young people like the Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) to targeted enforcement and mobilization activities like the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS).

We know, too, that our city is facing challenges, such as increasing concerns about gun violence. Over the past year, the Board has repeatedly highlighted the importance of a comprehensive strategy to combat this violence and has advocated for a ban on handguns. I know that we are doing our very best to get on top of this challenge.

I am proud of our commitment to community safety and I am confident that we will continue to work diligently, together, in the year to come so that our city remains safe and maintains a quality of life that is the envy of the world.

On behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, I want to wish you and your families all the best for the holiday season.

May you have a happy, healthy and safe New Year.


Alok Mukherjee
Chair

WITHOUT YOU, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY

WOW.

Did you read this in the Toronto Sun today?

Once again, the members of the Toronto Police Service have raised an amazing amount of money for the United Way of Greater Toronto. This year, the Service raised $600,000, exceeding its goal.

I was delighted to join Deputy Chief Kim Derry, Staff Superintendent Tony Corrie, Campaign Chair, TPA President Dave Wilson, Senior Officers’ Organization president Chuck Lawrence and Frances Lankin, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Toronto, at the cheque presentation. Ms Lankin is also my colleague on the Mayor's Advisory Panel on Making a Safe City Safer, chaired by former Ontario Chief Justice, Roy McMurtry.

I want to congratulate the members of the Service on an incredible achievement.

As Scottish writer Henry Drummond once said “Happiness... consists in giving, and in serving others.”

Here are my remarks from yesterday’s cheque presentation.

Honoured guests, members of the Toronto Police Service and members of the community:
On behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, it is my pleasure to welcome all of you here to the 2008 United Way Cheque Presentation.

The Service’s involvement in the United Way Campaign has been extremely rewarding, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to date.

Money donated to the United Way draws on the combined strength of campaigns and donors from across the community to make a difference in the lives of so many people who need it most.

In fact, our members use organizations funded by the United Way every day while performing their duties. These are great partnerships for all of us.

When we give to the United Way, not only do we assist those in our community, but we could also be helping those with whom we work and those with whom we share our lives.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Staff Superintendent Tony Corrie, this year’s campaign Chair and all of the organizers of the Toronto Police Service United Way Campaign for their tireless work and invaluable contributions in preparing this year’s campaign and ensuring that it was run smoothly and successfully. I am happy to report that we surpassed our goal, an amazing achievement!

I thank, too, all of those who participated in the campaign. You give the campaign strength and you give it energy.

And lastly, I would like to thank all of you who opened your hearts -- and your wallets – and made a donation to this year’s campaign. It is through your generosity that the United Way is able to offer its services, year after year, to those who need them.

At this time of year, it is especially gratifying to see the dedication of our members to the spirit of giving. Our ever-important partnerships with the community are something we very much treasure.

And I am proud to say that I know that our members – both uniform and civilian – carry on that spirit all year round.

Once again, on behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, thank you and happy holidays to all.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

The quality of the relationship between the Toronto Police Service and the community is of the utmost importance.

On a daily basis, Service members work to foster and strengthen this ever-important relationship. The Toronto Police Services Board is extremely proud of their contribution in this critical area.

I have blogged a couple of times on this issue.

Therefore, I was delighted this morning to read in The Toronto Star’s "Random Act of Kindness" section, a very inspiring story about one police officer's effort to build positive relations by his attention to the needs of one family in inner city Toronto.

You can read it here.

REMEMBRANCE

Today, members of the Toronto Police Service’s Winged Wheels had the honour of escorting the bodies of Canada’s most recent fallen soldiers and their families to the Coroner’s Office.

Today, members of the Toronto Police Service will be reflecting on those Canadians who have lost their life in the service of their country.

As I wrote in a previous blog last Remembrance Day, I will be thinking about the numerous members of the Toronto Police Service who have contributed to promoting peace worldwide, in keeping with Canada as a peacekeeping nation, supporting the cause of democracy and human rights in other countries.

My condolences on behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board go to all families who have lost loved ones in the service to their city and their country.

EPITAPH ON AN ARMY OF MERCENARIES

A.E. Housman

These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when Earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.