Get Home Safe
Why Now
Organized crime loves a disorganized government. Weak institutions—lacking coordination, transparency, and control—create the perfect environment for criminal networks to thrive.
Gangs are no longer just stealing cars; they are recruiting our children as co-workers, grooming boys for drug networks and shootings, and coercing girls into sex work. Seniors are being swindled out of life savings by sophisticated technology scams, while retail and wage theft diminish confidence in our economy.
For years, we have accepted fear as the price of city life—but the price is now too high.
Get Home Safe is not a future promise. It is an urgent intervention for today's crisis. We cannot afford to wait for jails, we can secure justice by investing in community support rather than expanding incarceration.
How Does This Impact Me?
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You get safer routes to school, transit stops, and malls with more trained crisis responders instead of police, reducing unnecessary criminalization of youth.
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Faster, non-police mental health response means fewer disruptions to your commute and neighborhood, letting you feel secure walking home late without fear of escalating conflicts.
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Your property taxes are better spent on proven crisis care and safety hubs where officers can be more present, while your teens get education programs that dismantle gang recruitment before it starts.
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You gain a trusted indoor space (Woodbine Mall Hub) with visible support services, making shopping and transit stops feel safer, plus equine therapy options for wellness and social connection.
My First 100 Days
Day 30: Submit Budget Request Letter to City Budget Committee formally requesting: redirection of Mounted Unit funds toward Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) expansion in Ward 1, funding for the Woodbine Mall Community Safety Hub, and funding for the equine therapy program.
Day 60: Execute Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Woodbine Mall ownership for the Community Safety Hub.
Day 100: Release Request for Proposals (RFP) for TCCS Ward 1 expansion, inviting community anchor partners (e.g., Gerstein Crisis Centre, TAIBU Community Health Centre, CMHA Toronto) to submit service delivery proposals.
Day 120: Host Community Town Hall to present the Hub concept, TCCS expansion plans, SafeTO progress, and the equine therapy program. Announce the launch date for the Community Safety Hub.
road map
(1-4 yEAR pROJECTS)
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This Community Safety Hub initiative establishes three accessible police presence points at Albion Mall, Woodbine Centre, and Islington-Rexdale Plaza. Mirroring successful TPS hubs at CF Shops at Don Mills and Fairview Mall, these hubs operate during salaried patrol hours to maintain emergency response capacity from donated retail spaces at zero hourly cost to individual tenants.
Supported by 23 Division's Neighbourhood Community Officer program and TCCS partners, these hubs will be staffed by Officers deployed for retail theft prevention and traffic response working alongside social workers for youth violence prevention. The model creates safe points across the ward's retail corridors while building community trust through positive police engagement.
Major Activities:
Establish Formal Hub Agreements with Mall Partners: Execute Memoranda of Understanding with Albion Mall, Woodbine Centre, and Islington-Rexdale Plaza owners, formalizing lease terms, space allocation, and operational hours. The partnership should mirror the Cadillac Fairview/TPS 33 Division model demonstrated at CF Shops at Don Mills and Fairview Mall. Agreements must clarify that hubs are community engagement spaces, not police stations, consistent with the existing hub model.
Staff Hubs with 23 Division NCOs & Social Workers: Deploy available Neighbourhood Community Officers from 23 Division's Etobicoke City Centre NCO expansion. Co-locate social workers from TCCS partner organizations (Gerstein Crisis Centre, TAIBU Community Health Centre, CMHA Toronto) for youth violence prevention intervention. Schedule officers during regular salaried patrol hours only, ensuring no overtime burden that compromises emergency response readiness.
Redirect Paid-Duty Funds & Transfer Non-Essential Functions: Redirect 30% of City-paid duty administration fees toward lease, wellness kiosk, and staffing costs. Following Ontario Association of Municipalities recommendations, transfer film set, construction site, and event duties currently performed by off-duty officers to private security providers—functions that do not require sworn police authority.
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This initiative aims to delivers weekly community forums in Ward 1 to prevent crime through education and early intervention. The forums will connect participants directly to wraparound services—mental health, employment, housing, and restorative justice—breaking cycles of offending before they begin.
Partnering with Toronto Public Library, Justice Centres, Rexdale Community Health Centre, and TPS PEACE program, the series equips residents with tools to recognize scams, fraud, and human trafficking warning signs while providing youth with pathways away from gang involvement.
Implementation leverages existing infrastructure, ensuring cost-effective, sustainable delivery aligned with SafeTO priorities.
Major Activities:
Scam & Fraud Awareness Sessions: Weekly workshops on identifying romance, investment, job scams, and identity theft, delivered through TPL's existing digital literacy programming.
Youth Gang Prevention & Diversion: Targeted sessions on human trafficking signs, gang prevention, self-defense, de-escalation, and employment planning, co-delivered by Rexdale Community Health Centre and TPS PEACE program.
Justice Circles & Referral Pathways: Restorative justice circles facilitated by Justice Centres, with warm handoffs to wraparound services for at-risk youth and community members.
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This initiative establishes an integrated Justice Centre–Community Safety Hub service pathway in Ward 1, connecting NCO-staffed hubs to Provincial Justice Centres and FOCUS Rexdale.
This initiatives aims to addresses operational gaps through warm handoff protocols, joint case management, data sharing agreements, 48-hour response targets, and a structured pathway for escalating systemic barriers .
This builds on the $1.89M federal investment in Rexdale youth gang prevention and the Campus of Care model connecting policing to health and social services. Existing partners—including TPS NCOs, FOCUS Rexdale, Rexdale Community Health Centre, and United Way Toronto—provide the collaborative infrastructure for coordinated youth diversion and recidivism management.
Major Activities
Coordinate Multi-Sectoral Interventions: Weekly Situation Table meetings bring together policing, health, education, and social service agencies to identify and respond to situations of acutely elevated risk .
Establish Permanent NCO Workspaces: Open Community Safety Hubs in malls and strip plazas as dedicated spaces for NCOs to meet residents, share crime prevention resources, and collaborate on safety initiatives .
Implement Service Coordination Protocols: Establish referral pathways, warm handoffs between Hub NCOs and Justice Centre case managers, shared case management, and anonymized data sharing to track recidivism and service outcomes .
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The Police Service Reforms initiative modernizes Toronto policing through four pillars:
Civilian oversight strengthens accountability via the Inspector General of Policing and TPS Board, implementing critical points policies following Project South.
Tiered paid duty reform reserves officers for high-risk enforcement while shifting lower-risk duties to special constables and private security, with strict hour limits and full cost recovery.
Ending the Mounted Unit to redirect $6.9 million to TCCS expansion, Community Safety Hubs, and equine therapy for officers and residents.
A Campus of Care for Officer Wellness services in mall settings, improving officer health and retention while reducing stigma through community-integrated care.
Major Activities:
Formalize Tiered Paid Duty Unit Specific Policy (U.S.P.): Direct the Superintendent, Emergency Management & Public Order to develop and implement a formalized U.S.P. for paid duty assignment, as recommended by the 2024 audit. The policy must document decision-making criteria for tiered assignments (regular vs. short-notice vs. short-notice priority), approval requirements, manual assignment protocols, and annual review of user access rights to the Paid Duty Management System.
Establish Community Safety Hubs with Integrated Campus of Care: Execute Memoranda of Understanding with mall operators (Woodbine, Albion, Rexdale) for dedicated hub spaces. Co-locate wellness services (nutrition, fitness, physiotherapy) for officers and community members. Hubs shall host weekly safety sessions on auto theft, fraud, and break-and-enter prevention.
Mounted Unit Phase-Out and Resource Redirection: Submit formal budget request for the 2027 cycle to redirect Mounted Unit operating funds ($5.9–$6.9M) to TCCS expansion in Ward 1, Community Safety Hub operations at three malls, equine therapy at Woodbine Racetrack, and Campus of Care wellness services. Include transition plan for officer reassignment and horse placement with Woodbine Racetrack's equine therapy program.
