Chief Demkiw's statement on safety and security in Toronto,
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Broadcast time: 12:23 PM
Date: Thursday, Oct 12, 2023
Unit: Office of the Chief
Phone: 4168088000
Case #: n/a
As we are all aware, the world has been rocked by the terror attacks in Israel and the continuing tragedies suffered by innocent civilians in the days after.
The war is effecting thousands of Toronto residents who have family and friends in those regions.
I have personally fielded dozens of direct calls from community leaders, expressing their concerns and asking for our help.
Earlier this week I met with leaders from Jewish communities and Palestinian communities to discuss our role as law enforcement, about public safety in our city, and how we can help our residents over the coming days and weeks.
While I am advised that these communities are grateful and supportive of the work of the Toronto Police Service, this war has shaken their feelings of peace and security, here at home.
The Toronto Police Service will do everything we can, as law enforcement, to help Toronto families, businesses, and all of our residents feel safe as they go about their daily lives.
To that end, the Command and senior leadership of the Toronto Police Service has directed that all Divisions ensure a high visibility presence of officers across the city.
Since this past weekend, all officers have been advised to have their uniforms ready and be available for deployment, and this morning I spoke with all Unit Commanders to underline this priority.
As we communicated earlier this week, in response to the terror attack in Israel, the Service immediately increased patrols in Jewish communities and we have now expanded that increased visibility to include cultural centres, synagogues, mosques, schools and other places of worship across the city.
There will be two Command Posts setup to serve local communities, take reports and serve as a location where police officers will be on the ground and easily reached by those communities if needed. Local divisional officers and auxiliary officers will be on duty.
People can expect to see a continued, increased police presence for the foreseeable future.
The Service continues to work with federal, provincial and municipal law enforcement partners to ensure coordination and information sharing.
I have connected with GTA Chiefs and also with OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and the Assistant Commissioner, RCMP Matt Peggs this morning and those lines of communication between law enforcement are open and active.
With regard to hateful behavior, I will underline again that violence and hateful acts will not be tolerated in our city.
The Toronto Police Service and our Hate Crime Unit will aggressively pursue any alleged or suspected incidents of hate crime or hate motivated behavior in our city.
There will be no tolerance of any forms of hate and intimidation.
Residents are encouraged to report any allegations of hate motivated incidents to police for investigation.
Please, always call 9-1-1 for emergencies. For incidents that do not have an immediate safety concern please call our non-emergency line so we can investigate. Should you have information that you wish to report anonymously please call Crime Stoppers.
We are continuing to monitor the situation here in Toronto and beyond. We will deploy our officers to ensure residents feel a sense of safety and security.
I’d like to close by thanking all members of the Toronto Police Service who responded quickly and admirably this past weekend and in the days that have followed.
Thank you.
Stephanie Sayer for Office of the Chief
