More officers 'not the way to go,' police chief says after action plan released

More officers"is not the way to go" when it comes to modernizing the service,Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said Friday, a day after theTransformational Task Force released a new report on how to bring the force into the 21st century.

According to the report, the force is turning to technology to guide its massive modernization effort, while bolstering its human resources in an effort to change policing culture in this city.

• Toronto police action plan calls for major changes for force

But boosting officer numbers is not the key to reducing crime in the city, Saunders told CBC Toronto's Metro Morningin response to allegations from the union that modernizing the force is a cost-cutting endeavour.

During the interview, he noted that in 2009, the service had 508 more officers on the street than it did last year, yet violent crime was higher.

"So putting morein is not the way to go," Saunders said Friday. "This report is so much more than budget. It's about modernization. It's about moving us forward and understanding what our responsibilities are in today's environment in policing."

The task force outlined its plans in a new documentcalled Action Plan: The Way Forward,which was presented to the Toronto Police Services Board at its Thursday meeting and is alsoavailable online. Thursdaywas also the first time frontline officers had a chance to see the document the task force has been working on for months.

The changes include, but are not limited to:

• Embedding officers in neighbourhoods for three years at a time.
• Equipping police officers with smart devices, including so-called "eNotebooks" that will allow them to spend more time out of their vehicles and stations.
• Reorganizing "outdated"divisional boundaries so they better line up with the city's neighbourhoods. This will also result in closing some stations.
• Enhancing human resources efforts to make sure officers have "emotional intelligence" and that when a hiring freeze ends in 2019, the force hires in a way that reflects the city's diversity.

Saunders cited "emotional intelligence" during his Friday interview, when asked what culture change means for his force.

"Culture change ismany different forms, so there's no one answer to it," Saunders said. "But one of the things that is predominant is emotional intelligence. So it talks about policing and not just what you do, but how you do becomes much more an important measurement."

Officers being attached toa community for three years will allow them to develop stronger relationships in the community, which will help themnot just react to events, but to proactively help find solutions to grassroots problems, Saunders said.

"Relationships aren't built when police are needed, relationships are built when things are normal, when things are not happening and you have the opportunity to have conversations," he said.

'You have to look forward'

Saunders also said thatdespite his 34 years ofservice in the force, he can still oversee culture change because there's an appetite for it within the force and at all levels of government.

"You have to look forward. You have to see what's going to be disrupting you up ahead in the future, and have resources in place for that as well, too," Saunders said.

"So when we look at this report, we look at modernizing and that modernizing piece really does look at how does our role in policing change? Because policing does change, and if you're not there ready for it at that moment, you're going to get disrupted."

Saunders also disputed union head Mike McCormack's claim Thursday that officers felt left out of the process that led to the report.

"Right from the start the Association had the opportunity to be at the table and have as much information as we had as a task force," Saunders said.

Media has 'blown up' arrest video, Saunders says

During his Metro Morning interview, host Matt Gallowayalso asked Saunders about a video shot earlier this week of a group of his officers making an arrest downtown.

In the video, officers tell Waseem Khan thatthey will seize his cellphonefor taking the video, while another says that the suspect who is under arrest might spit on Khanand give him AIDS.

"The media has blown it up every single day and people are thinking, 'oh my goodness, this is how police respond most of the time,'" Saunders said. "In fact, it is not. But more importantly, what do we do with it?"

He noted the force's three-fold response: an apology, evaluating whether officers understand the "sensitivities" of what they say to members of the public, and opening an investigation to determine whether discipline or further training are warranted.

Of the officer who made the comment about Khan getting AIDS, Saunders said: "That one officer does not represent the 5,169 men and women that are out there every day."