Toronto’s top cop acknowledged Thursday that there is a disconnect with how residents feel and what the police data shows when it comes to public safety. Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw sat down with CP24 Breakfast for a wide-ranging interview during the launch of a new monthly segment called “Ask the Chief.” Demkiw addressed a new Nanos Research survey conducted exclusively for CP24 and CTV News Toronto that found 15.9 per cent of Torontonians say public safety and crime are the biggest problems impacting their quality of life in the city. “The data points tell one story, and in fact, as it relates to shootings, our data points tell us we’re at some of the lowest rates we’ve had actually since before the summer of the gun in 2005,” the chief said. According to Toronto Police Services Data, there are 62 shootings so far this year, down 20 per cent year-over-year. Demkiw also noted the number of young people picking up firearms, which shot up in the past few years, is also seeing a downward trend. “So, the data tells us a story that we’re going in the right direction downwards, but the sense of safety and security is not necessarily connecting with the data,” Demkiw added. The question of public safety came to a head in this summer when gunshots rang out at the crowded Salsa on St. Clair festival, leaving residents across the city shaken. When asked what Toronto police are doing to make people feel safe, the chief said his service is taking “a whole-of-service approach.” “Our resources are integrated across the service. We have a real-time operations centre that let’s us move our people around and our resources to be there where they’re needed the most, while making sure we have business continuity across the city,” Demkiw said. He also reiterated that all officers must uphold the law on and off duty to maintain the public’s trust and confidence in policing, when asked about a senior officer who recently was charged with impaired driving. “I’ve been very, very clear with everybody in our organization that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. It’s a criminal offence, no matter the rank. You will be held to full account, and that’s precisely what’s happening in this case,” Demkiw said. In addition to public safety and crime, traffic is also on top of mind for many voters, according to the poll. Demkiw said Toronto police are not immune to the issue, saying traffic impacts how they respond to calls. “Our ability to get there quickly matters, and a lot of our calls are not necessarily emergencies. So now you’re not using equipment to get through the traffic, and our members are dealing with the traffic as well in their day-to-day operations, and even in the event of an emergency, sometimes it’s very difficult to move the traffic out of the way, so you can get there,” the chief said.
