York Regional Police is preparing for the future with advancements in technology and recruitment to address concerning crime trends.
Chief Jim MacSween highlighted the latest happenings with the police force to York Region council at a special meeting May 30. The police force is taking measures to tackle issues like the rising trend in car thefts, and an increase in violent and hate crimes, while also dealing with police recruitment challenges experienced across the country.
When it comes to car thefts, MacSween said, “We need to change our way of doing business because if we don’t, people in this region— and the GTA and across the country — are going to continue to be victimized."
The presentation was an opportunity for York Region council to address their policing concerns and hear how police are addressing the crime trends. Councillors had suggested increasing the police budget above the requested numbers recently, but MacSween declined at the time.
MacSween touched on a variety of different topics and crime trends, particularly the concern around car thefts, hate crimes, as well as violent crimes that have been on upward trends. However, he said police are working to address these issues, whether with patrols, outposts and Operation Auto Guard.
As car thefts have risen, so have York Regional Police’s recovery efforts. With 3,951 reported thefts last year, police recovered 1,773 of them.
Newmarket Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh inquired about ways to prevent the thefts in the first place, suggesting the trend will only continue to grow.
MacSween said it is going to take efforts from all sides of the issue, including governments and car manufacturers, to start addressing the issue. Action is also more important than words at this point, he added.
“It’s all hands on deck approach to preventing this,” he said. “We need to stop talking about what the issue is and start talking about what each of us is going to do about it.”
Police are also preparing for a possible expansion in the number of districts, currently numbering five. In response to a question, MacSween said it is something they are planning for with York Region’s rising population.
The police are also trialling a facial recognition system that will attempt to compare crime scenes against the mugshots on record.
Richmond Hill Deputy Mayor Godwin Chan inquired about the concern that tends to arise with facial recognition regarding targeting visual minorities.
MacSween responded that the system had been in the works for two years and worked through the privacy commission. He also said the database is only for those who have been previously charged, and much like how people can apply to have fingerprints removed from on file, so too can they for mugshot data.
“For me, if you’re not committing a crime, what are you worried about?” MacSween said.
Chan also asked about how police can address people feeling unsafe in their communities through their presence.
MacSween said information is key there and something councillors can take to their communities, as oftentimes crime rates can be exaggerated through rumour mills. He noted that the public has access to an online community portal highlighting recent crimes in their area so they can get the facts.
“They’re not feeling safe because of what they’re seeing on TV,” MacSween said. “If you’re not giving the facts, if you’re not going to the data points, to get what’s the reality of the statistics, then you’re probably passing on information that’s not accurate and that is not helping anybody.”
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca expressed his appreciation for the police. He also said police should be well resourced to ensure the residents can feel safe.
“I just sincerely hope that all members of council are very open to making sure, as those (budget) conversions unfold, that we don’t fall into the trap of being sort of penny wise and pound foolish,” he said. “That Chief MacSween and the YRP team are appropriately resourced.”
