Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw will remain in his role for four more years.
On Thursday, the Toronto Police Services (TPS) Board approved Demkiw’s contract renewal.
“Chief Demkiw has demonstrated unwavering dedication to the people of Toronto, a steady and thoughtful approach to leadership and a genuine commitment to building trust with communities and with the members of the service,” TPS Board Chair Shelley Carroll said.
“In extending his mandate, the board is sending a clear message that stability in leadership is critical at this moment and we are confident that Chief Demkiw will continue to provide it.”
Demkiw, a 35-year veteran of the force, said TPS has made significant progress on the priorities he laid out when he took over the role in 2022, which are improving trust in and within the police service, accelerating police reform, and supporting safer communities.
During the board’s Thursday meeting, the chief presented the pillars of his renewed operational roadmap to continue making progress on those priorities. They include working with communities on prevention and addressing root causes of crime, and using “data” more to identify and address dangerous people in communities.
The chief said the roadmap “will guide our members and ensure our efforts are co-designed, co-developed and co-delivered in meaningful ways with the communities we serve.”
“I am committed to continuing to work with our members, the chair, the board, the mayor, city council, communities, the Toronto Police Association, the senior officers organization and all our partners to keep our city safe and deliver real results,” Dewmkiw said.
When asked what has been his greatest achievement as chief the past three years, Demkiw said it’s developing TPS’s multi-year hiring plan.
“During what we know are very challenging times and very sometimes unpredictable times and having the certainty of a multi-year hiring plan that the chair and the board supported through city council is absolutely essential for our ability to succeed and something I am very proud of, the work out team did with the board.”
The chief also shared that homicides, shootings, firearm discharges and auto thefts are all down compared to last year.
But he is concerned about the worrying trend of violence among young people. Demkiw said 13 young people have been charged in connection with murders in the city this year.
“Incredibly disturbing numbers and not acceptable. When you look at the rate - and we’ve been sounding the alarm on this for some time - the rate of youth involved activity in illegal firearms has been dramatically rising over the last couple years,” the chief said.
He added that the concerning number is a call to action for Toronto police and other levels of government to find a way to address this issue.
“We have to get past some of the silos, some of the issues that constrain our ability to share information and find ways to come together and collaborate, that’s leading to greater success in disrupting this very troubling trend,” Demkiw said.
