Etobicoke's top cops lay out plans for 2012

Etobicoke's top cops lay out plans for 2012. Toronto Police Division 23 Superintendent Ron Taverner, left, is the head of policing in north Etobicoke, while 22 Division Superintendent James Ramer is in charge of Etobicoke south of Eglinton. Staff photo/MARY GAUDET

"This past year, it's a good news story with regards to overall crime. Across the city the major crime indicators have decreased service-wide by seven per cent - and both 22 and 23 are seeing a reduction in crime," Supt. Ron Taverner of north Etobicoke's 23 Division said Wednesday, Dec. 21 during a year-end wrap-up chat with The Guardian and his neighbouring colleague to the south, Supt. James Ramer of 22 Division.

"But we do have some areas that are higher crime areas that are plagued by gang violence, guns, street-level robberies, those sorts of things. And like 22 Division, our focus is crime prevention so that there's a sense and perception that the community is safer. That's what we want to do."

A large part of crime prevention, added Ramer, is an engaged and educated community.

"It's really about community education and keeping residents informed and encouraging their participation," he said. "We want the community to be involved, to be our eyes and ears, and they have to be confident in their contact with us if we're going to see that increased participation."

In 23 Division, those efforts will be concentrated early in the new year in the communities of Jamestown, Mt. Olive and Armel Court - those communities most impacted by the Project Marvel raids and arrests earlier this month.

The seven-month long project culminated Dec. 13 with the simultaneous, cross-country, joint-force execution of 67 search warrants by more than 900 police officers across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. In the end, 60 people were arrested and seized were 27 firearms, more than $110,000 in cash, and quantities of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines.

Taverner said of the 60 arrests, approximately 25 per cent of them were made in 23 Division - hence the need for Project Clean Slate, a three-pronged, divisional-level initiative aimed at community mobilization, crime prevention, and enforcement.

Community engagement, Taverner said, is again key.

"A big part of it is we have to engage the community in making sure that no one comes in and takes the place of those criminals that have been taken out, by getting the people in the community to report things that are going on," Taverner said.

Towards those ends, 23 Division officers are currently in the midst of handing out 7,000 community safety pamphlets detailing local police efforts at violent crime intervention and prevention, and listing all the ways community members can reach their police service.

Engaging the community is also going to be a key method for officers down in 22 Division in dealing with some of the drug and prostitution activities down along the lakeshore - with the help of, in particular, members of the local Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and the 22 Division Community Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).

"The BIA and CPLC members are reporting back a lot of concern about the drug activity and some of the prostitution activity that's down there," Ramer said. "So looking forward to 2012, we have some significant initiatives planned for that area and we're having that consultation with community members down there as we proceed going forward. It's not secret stuff - everybody knows it's a problem down there, so we're going to try to fix the problem...and that's really in response to information coming to us from our CPLCs."

Another of both 22 and 23 divisions' focus looking forward to the new year is youth engagement.

Ramer said both the ProAction Cops and Kids and School Resource Officer (SROs) programs are "invaluable" resources towards improving relations between young people and police officers.

"You get these relationships that end up being established between officers and youth in a non-threatening environment, and they're very positive interactions," he said. "What you see as the benefit derived from that is much a better understanding between the youth and the role of the police."

Along those same lines, last month Taverner and the officers of 23 Division began a pre-charge, youth diversion program in partnership with Albion Neighbourhood Services, which allows young people who have committed a crime the option of entering a diversion program rather than being charged.

"It's a very positive program in that it allows young people not to get a record, which obviously means a lot going forward in their lives," Taverner said. "It shows them the options that they have. It's a very, very positive program."

So far, Taverner said his SROs - of which there are seven stationed in high schools throughout 23 Division - have been trained to offer the youth diversion program as an alternative, and four or five youth have opted to take it.

He hopes to expand the program in the next year.