Toronto police association head hints at job action over task force recommendations

Toronto police officers are so concerned about the changes proposed in an upcoming report that there's already talk of job action, said the head of the Toronto Police Association.

A task force, struck by Mayor John Tory to modernize the police force and reduce its budget, is poised to make a series of recommendations, including closing six stations across the city and not hiring any officers for three years, according to details leaked by senior police officials.

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Mike McCormack, President of the Toronto Police Association, said chief among his concerns about the details of the new report is how the force will operate with 350 fewer officers by 2017. He said officers are already frustrated by not having enough personnel to do proactive police work. 

"They're stressed by the workload," McCormack told CBC's Metro Morning on Thursday.

How do we get police out of the bricks and mortar fortress and out into the street?- Coun. Shelley Carroll

McCormack said rank and file officers don't have a problem with finding efficiencies within the force, but won't do anything that jeopardizes public safety just to cut costs. The officers will read the finalized report — an interim version will be tabled at the police services board on Friday — and after that will decide whether some form of job action is necessary.

"Whether or not a job action is required, we'll look at it and we'll decide what the appropriate action is," he said.

For now, McCormack said officers are in a "wait and see" mode and said he's eager to see the data that backs up the task force's proposals.

Job action unlikely, says councillor

Coun. Shelley Carroll, who sits on the police board, said on Metro Morning she believes a job action is unlikely as policing is an essential service in the city.

She's also hoping many officers will get on board with the changes, which she said will both save money and get officers out into the community more in an effort to build trust.

One thing the report focuses on, she said, is how to "get police out of the bricks and mortar fortress and out into the street?"

Carroll also said many of the changes — which have been made in other police jurisdictions — will reduce the workload for officers by taking them off tasks that can be handled by civilians and keeping them focused on serious police work.

The Ward 33 councillor also said that she believes the public has taken a "unanimous position" that policing in Toronto needs to change.

More details of the task force's report are set to be made public this afternoon, after journalists are briefed on the document at police headquarters.

Tory struck the task force in February after the police budget topped $1 billion for the first time ever, sparking criticism from many in the city.