Board Meeting Highlights - September 23, 2020
2021 Schedule of Regular Board Meetings
The Board approved the 2021 schedule of regular meetings of the Board. Please see here for a copy.
Retiring Badge Presentation to Deputy Chief Crawford
After 34 years of service, including seven years as Deputy Chief, Deputy Chief André Crawford is retiring. At the Board’s meeting, Deputy Crawford was presented with a retirement badge and the obelisk award which is given to retiring members of the Executive Command Team. Deputy Crawford began his policing career in 1986 and has been a senior officer since 2005. He has worked in various areas including Uniform Patrol in #2 District and #5 District, Criminal Investigations, Intelligence, Sexual Assault, Crimes against Children, Homicide/Missing Persons and Training and Education. His contributions to community safety and citizen engagement through innovative programs and crime prevention initiatives have been extensive and have increased the public trust and partnerships in this Region. He mentored a generation of York Regional Police officers and redefined what it means to be a police officer in today’s world. His exceptional service to the community has made him a true leader. York Regional Police is a stronger police service because of his many contributions and will continue to remain one of the safest communities in Canada.
Project Nova
York Regional Police made a presentation on Project Nova which is a new project focused on finding new and better ways of policing at the frontlines. The goals of the project are to balance workloads, increase efficiency and effectiveness, reduce and eliminate unnecessary or non-critical calls for service and change the mindset around how frontline officers are valued within the police culture and processes. These processes save both time and money related to the use of front-line officers for various responsibilities like the delivery of prisoner meals, unverified alarms and the execution of arrest warrants. Please see here for a full copy of the presentation.
Eradicating Racism and Strengthening Public Trust and Confidence in Policing
In recent months, there has been a greater recognition of the need for municipalities, police boards and police services to address the concerns of the Black community in a direct and rigorous way. The leadership of the Board will be critical in identifying and monitoring the plans and actions required to address these concerns and to ensure that the right change happens, in the right way. On July 27, 2020, the Board Chair, Vice Chair and Executive Director had a virtual meeting with leaders and representatives of the Black Community. The purpose of the meeting was to continue trust-building between York Regional Police and the Black Community, to hear the community’s vision for change, solicit proposed solutions and receive suggested recommendations for action. The report and submissions can be found through these links Board report, Appendix A.
Crime Rate in York Region
The overall crime rate in York Region decreased by 8.6 percent during the first half of 2020 when compared with the first half of 2019. The rate of property crimes decreased by 13.1 percent during that same period. The rate of sexual violations decreased by 27.9 percent to 298 violations during that same period. Assault violations saw a rate of decrease of 5.3 percent. Impaired driving violations also experienced a rate of decrease of 16.6 percent to 550 incidents. However, we have seen an increase in fraud and drug violations. Over the past five years, crime rates in York Region have been gradually increasing. York Region, however, continues to be a safe community with one of the lowest crime rates in Canada and among comparators in the GTA. Please see here for a copy of the semi-annual crime statistics report and the 2020 National Crime Statistics Rankings.
Semi-Annual Public Complaints Report
The Chief of Police reports to the Board on an annual and semi-annual basis with respect to public complaints against York Regional Police. During the first half of 2020, 81 complaints were filed against York Regional Police officers compared to 67 during the same period in 2019. Fifty-four (54) of those complaints were investigated. Forty (40) complaints were not accepted by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (“OIPRD”) as they were deemed to be not in the public interest, frivolous, or more appropriately dealt with under another Act or law. In 2020, 45 percent of complaints were accepted, while in 2019, 51 percent were accepted by the OIPRD. The nature of many of the complaints against YRP relate to police procedure. Please see here for a copy of the public complaints report.
Next Police Services Board Meeting
Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. and will be live streamed on YouTube. Further instructions on the broadcast will be posted on the Board website.
Contact: Mafalda Avellino, Executive Director, psb@yrp.ca or 1-877-464-9675 ext. 77906.
The Regional Municipality of York Police Services Board is a seven-member civilian Board that oversees and governs the York Regional Police and is comprised of one member as Head of Municipal Council, three members are appointed by resolution of Regional Council and three by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Accessible formats or communication supports are available upon request
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