Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

perceived uncertainty as to whether the killing could have been avoided. Everyone
suffers, including to some degree, the public perception of the police. It is all part of a
terrible tragedy.
31. When the issues are looked at from these perspectives, the importance of seeking
to prevent lethal encounters between police and people in crisis becomes crystal clear. If
reasonable steps can be taken to prevent even one unnecessary death, then those steps
must be taken.
32. I turn now to discuss some relevant background facts regarding the Toronto
Police Service.
C. The Toronto Police Service
1. Geographic scope
33. Established in its current form in 1998 with the amalgamation of the City of
Toronto, the Toronto Police Service has existed in various forms since the early part of
the 19 th century.
Figure 1. Divisional map of the Toronto Police Service
5TEELE5 AVE W
STE E LE 5 AVE E
42
HIGHWAY 401
LAWRENCE AVE W
BLOOR ST
g 51
52 Gt,71
DANFORTH AVE
Legend
- Division Boundary
F-1 Central Field Command
n Area Field Command
34. The TPS provides police services for the entire City of Toronto, from Lake
Ontario in the south to Steeles Avenue in the north, and from Highway 427 in the west
to Pickering Town Line in the east.
35. For policing purposes, the City is divided into 17 Divisions, each with its own
police station. A map of the 17 Divisions is set out in Figure 1.
Police Encounters With People in Crisis |64