The number of special constables responsible for patrolling community housing buildings appears set for a significant increase.

The Toronto Police Services Board will vote today on a report from Chief Mark Saunders recommending that the compliment of Toronto Community Housing Corporation special constables be increased from 160 to 300.

In the report, Saunders said that the increase is necessary due to an uptick in the number of residents living in the TCHC’s estimated 60,000 units.

“This enables the same officers to have a frequent and consistent presence in that community,” Saunders wrote.

The Toronto Community Housing Corporation asked for the increase in special constables in an attempt to reduce and better respond to crime on its property.

Saunders said that a larger compliment of special constables will allow the unit “to meet the growing demands placed upon them and also implement new strategies.”

He said that special constables are responsible for 50 million square feet of residential space within the TCHC’s portfolio, spread across 2,100 buildings.

“We are confident that the TCHC can manage this increase and it would be beneficial to both the TCHC and the Toronto Police Service,” he said.

Several other items on agenda

In addition to the increase in TCHC special constables, the TPS board will also hear a quarterly update from its anti-racism advisory panel during today’s meeting.

As well, the board is expected to vote on covering nearly $30,000 in funeral expenses for an officer who was found dead in his home last month.

According to a report, Const. Sam Sun had been involved in an on-duty incident in the days prior to his death that led to him being treated in hospital. The report said that “it is not known

conclusively” whether that incident played a role in his death.

“Due to the nature of his death and the events that transpired prior, the Toronto Police Service has committed to the family to pay for the unexpected funeral costs,” the report says.