Police and Crime

Every year, the Police budget increases - 25% over the past five years. It's the only sector of the budget to get these kind of increases. Every year, they ask for more money, and every year they get more money. It's clear that there is money for some priorities - the question is, whose priorities are they?

Security on Toronto's streets is important to people. And policing has much to do with that - but not everything. Proposals by candidates to "get tough on crime" by increasing the number of police and increasing the police budget are at best naive, at worst, lies.

It's unfortunate, but simple solutions do not exist for societal problems like crime and insecurity. Humanize Toronto believes that money and energy is better spent addressing the roots of these problems rather than attacking their apparently "criminal" manifestations (ie. money should go into housing, public health, recreation, public transit, childcare). And where police are involved, they should be intimately involved in the daily life of the neighbourhood, working with the neighbours, walking the streets on foot, a part of the fabric of the community - not a force imposed upon it, as it may sometimes appear.

The Helicopter That Wouldn't Die

Police are better on foot, being involved in the everyday life of the neighbourhood, than they are up in the sky in a helicopter. There is no proof that a helicopter is an effective crime-fighter. A study from University of Western Ontario - perhaps the only one of its kind - showed that helicopters do nothing to suppress crime rates. Feeling safe doesn't come from the sound of choppers overhead, bright lights sweeping the streets and the feeling of someone watching you.

Openness and Transparency

People care about policing. They are concerned about racial profiling, and feel a lack of openness and transparency in the Police Service. For example, if the Police budget books were open for public review, requests for more money could be understood and evaluated reasonably. The Police Services Board should also be opened up. Currently composed of three members appointed by the Provincial government, three members appointed by City Council and one citizen representative, the Board should be reformed to include more citizens. These proposals require action on the part of the Province, to be clear.

In sum, Humanize Toronto believes that the people of Toronto should be in charge of the police force.