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.

OPEN AND TANSPARENT – YEAR 2

For many organizations, both public and private sector, this time of year is spent focusing on the budgets for the upcoming year. It is a time to reflect on the finances for the previous year and to prioritize and set goals for the coming year. For some, these discussions take place behind closed doors with very few contributing to the discussion.

Not so for the Toronto Police Service and the Toronto Police Services Board. This is not the first time I have blogged about the TPS budget process and the Board’s and the City’s role in this process. Here is a refresher.

The Toronto Police Services Board is committed to having an open and transparent budget discussion; one in which the members of the public can have input into helping set the budgetary priorities for the Service.

With that in mind, tonight, members of the public are invited to make submissions and speak directly to Board members about what they believe our priorities should be. The Toronto Sun wrote about our process earlier this week.

If you are interested in participating this evening, please contact the Board office at 416-808-8080.

THE REVIEW OF THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE

I wanted to blog immediately after I saw the report written by former Chief Justice Roy McMurtry and Alvin Curling, The Review of the Roots of Youth Violence . I opted instead to wait to review the public and media reaction. I also had the opportunity to speak with Chief Justice McMurtry, in the course of his research. For those of us who are familiar with the issues highlighted in the report, it came as no surprise that the report’s conclusions provoked both highly positive and some negative media and public reaction.

The one thing that has been underlined in both the report and in the subsequent media reaction is the need for coordination among all stakeholders, opinion leaders, research leaders, public agencies, community agencies and other concerned parties.

The Toronto Police Services Board has long talked about the importance of coordination in dealing with youth violence. Mayor David Miller, who is a member of the Toronto Police Services Board, echoed the Board’s view in his remarks quoted in the Report’s new release: “This report underlines the critical importance of governments building meaningful partnerships with business, labour and educational institutions to address the needs of thousands of youth from our most vulnerable communities. By providing them with the right environment with access to recreation, education, and proper training, these young people will have a real chance to live productive lives free from violence”.

At a time when the state of the economy weighs heavily on everyone's mind and there is a reluctance to commit new funds to initiatives, coordination is a smart tactic. I believe that there are many resources available from government and, public institutions as well as from the community. What we need and what the report stresses is a well thought out plan to coordinate these resources into a more efficient and effective overall strategy.

Our Board will watch the fate of this report and how it is received by the provincial government with great interest.

CRIME PREVENTION WEEK 2008

This morning I helped kick off Crime Prevention Week 2008 at Toronto Police Headquarters.

Here are my remarks……..

On behalf of the Toronto Police Services Board, I want to welcome all of you to Toronto Police Headquarters as we kick off Crime Prevention Week 2008.

This year’s theme is: “Invest in Your Future: Prevent Crime” and I can think of no theme more relevant or more fundamental for us today. Our Board shares the general consensus that prevention of crime is no less important than vigorously responding to crime when it occurs. We further believe that a critical component of prevention is meaningful investment in our young people, who represent the future.

This year, the Crime Prevention Week is taking place at a time when there is, once again, heightened concern and considerable discussion about violent crime in our community. Members of the public are perturbed by the incidence of violence in our midst, such as the killing of innocent bystanders and the attacks on school premises involving young people.

It is understandable that in this context, our attention should be focused on the additional measures that may be required and the efficacy of the tools that are available to deal with these threats to public safety.

Yet, this is also the time when we need to pay equal – if not greater – attention to crime prevention. And that involves a commitment to doing everything we can to deter our future generation, namely young people, from straying into the path of violence.

Investment in young people must be a societal priority. No one institution or agency can assume that responsibility. Nor can any institution or agency avoid taking responsibility. This must be our collective priority. In this regard, our look forward to a broad debate around, and full implementation of, the McMurtry-Curling report on “The Roots of Violence.”

For our part, the Toronto Police Services Board is very much committed to investing in, and supporting, young people through a variety of programs and initiatives. We have established an Advisory Panel on Community Safety to advise the Board on issues that it should act on or advocate for to address gun violence among youth.

The Board was also an original proponent, and remains a key supporter of, the Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI). This summer youth employment program is a joint initiative of the Board and the Toronto Police Service. Funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, it has, in each of the last three years, provided well-paying and meaningful summer jobs for 100 youth from our at-risk neighbourhoods.

The Board also supports youth through its funding activities. In 2005, the Board decided to set aside a minimum of $100,000 from its Special Fund to support initiatives focussed on families, children and youth. Through this program, the Board has funded a good number of unique, progressive and powerful projects.

As well, the Board is proud to support the tremendous work that the Toronto Police Service is doing in this area, including innovative programs that are part of a larger anti-violence strategy. One shining example of this is the “Empowered Student Partnerships” program in so many of our high schools.

This unique student-led program encourages youth to plan, organize and execute anti-violence and problem-solving initiatives in their schools, in partnership with the Toronto Police Service, the school boards, the City and local community organizations.

The Toronto Police Services Board and the Toronto Police Service are working diligently in partnership with our many community partners to support our young people, and to ensure that our communities are safe and healthy for everyone. As we embark upon this year’s Crime Prevention Week, I invite every institution and all levels of government to take stock of their investments in our collective future so that, together, we can enable our young people to aspire to a life of hope rather than of crime and violence.