Today is the day that Toronto's public police oversight board is expected to usher in big changes in this city's police service.
The Toronto Police Services Board will debate a report that has been a year in the making. The authors call the stacks notes and glossy photos, 'The Way Forward,' at the core of which are more than 30 ways Toronto Police should 'modernize' the way its officers do their jobs. Recommendations include everything from getting more cops out of their patrol cars and onto the beat, to re-drawing police territories and even a hiring freeze. If the report is adopted in its entirety, Toronto's police chief estimates it could save the service roughly $100 million on its $1 billion annual budget.
At the core of this proposal is a call for a major shift in the culture of Toronto Police.
There would be a focus on classic 'neighbourhood policing' and building trust with people in the communities officers serve through face-to-face contact, on more than just occasions where those people are having an emergency.
There's talk of presenting a friendlier face to help break down mistrust in the public, with the hopes of getting the inside track on preventing crimes in communities before they happen, and having strong leads to track down suspects when they do.
Cst. Andrew Goodine is a nine-year veteran Toronto Police officer who has served some of this city's most troubled communities. He's policed in places like Malvern, Jane-and-Finch, and in the division that covers Toronto's eastern downtown. Goodine has been tapped by the service as one of the leaders in taking the report from written theories to real action on the streets.
"Change does take a lot of time," admits Goodine, "it's not just one recommendation - its 32 of them, and they're all inter-connected." While the constable knows a challenge lies ahead, he sounds optimistic that the changes will ultimately lead to better policing, and a safer city. Goodine stresses the importance of communication when it comes to following through on the goals set out in 'The Way Forward.'
He says new cops will spend a year with a senior officer on dedicated community assignments, where they'll work on building connections with the residents they meet each day. "I'm a police officer and I wear a uniform, but I'm a person, too," Goodine says, "a lot of times because of the demands of our job (as a police officer), we don't get the opportunity to share our experiences."
He admits that it might sound like a cliché, but as far as he's concerned, at the heart of making this program a success, "is just being able to talk to people."
Goodine bristles at the suggestion that Toronto Police is taking an 'old-school' approach to changing the way the job is done, stressing that the use of new technology will allow cops to have more freedom than ever before.
The report calls for officers to employ smartphone apps that will allow them to file and compile reports without having return to the police station. Some of the recommendations to be debated on Thursday have proven to be controversial, with Toronto's police union providing some of the strongest criticism.
Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack has claimed that a reduction in the number of police officers in the Service would result in a risk to public safety. Some community groups have voiced concern about the possible closure of Toronto Police divisions. Several of the proposals in the report would require changes to the union's collective bargaining agreement.