A final report from a task force charged with finding ways to modernize policing has been approved by the Toronto Police Service’s board, setting the stage for work to begin on the implementation of its 32 recommendations.

The report, which was released in January, calls for a “culture change,” within the TPS, which would make neighbourhood policing a top priority and place an increased emphasis on technology.

The report calls for the redrawing of some divisional boundaries and the closing of some police stations. It also suggests that the TPS use civilian employees rather than costlier uniformed personnel to “follow up on non-emergency neighbourhood safety incidents.” As well, the report says that officers should be equipped with so-called "eNotebooks" to reduce the need for cruisers and get more officers walking the beat.

Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack has previously told CP24 that the recommendations are “nothing more than cuts thinly veiled as transformation.”

Mayor John Tory, however, rejected that criticism on Thursday, telling reporters that the recommendations are geared towards making sure officers are focusing on “real police work” and aren’t spending their time “filling out papers” and dealing with other administrative matters.

“Police officers today are as well educated as ever, as highly trained as ever, well compensated and I don’t think they entered into a career in policing to sit and watch for people to turn left at intersection or stand on the street holding a radar gun,” he said. “They want to do police work that makes a huge difference in the community and I think a lot of the modernization that we are talking about that gets people more into the community is exactly what his (McCormack’s) members want and it will improve morale.”

Some of the report’s recommendations have already been put into place, including a three-year hiring freeze, though most of them will be carried out in the coming years.

Discussing the road ahead on Thursday, Police Chief Mark Saunders conceded that it could “take some time” to achieve the cultural change that board members hope to bring about with the implantation of the report but he said that the end result will be worth it.

“When I got asked to take this seat, they asked what should the Toronto Police Service look like? Should the existing model continue? And I have always said that we need to change the model,” he said. “When you have a look at the pressures, when you have a look at the demographics, when you have a look at a whole host of things that are going on, you have to change the model in a fluid way.”

The final report released in January sets a deadline of 2019 for the implementation of all 32 recommendations.

In the interim, the report calls for the TPS board to appoint an independent advisor to provide it with “advice and perspective” on the implementation of the recommendations.

The TPS will also be asked to maintain a scorecard in order to keep members of the public apprised of its progress in implementing the recommendations.