Our Community 2022

Our Way Forward: A Strategy to Operationalize Community Safety and Well-Being

Significant steps have been taken to adopt Ontario's Community Safety and Well-Being Planning Framework as a foundation for serving our communities and operating as a progressive, innovative and inclusive public safety organization. Peel Regional Police’s Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) strategy, ‘Our Way Forward’, outlines our commitment to apply the CSWB lens to how we serve the region. It builds on the steps we have already taken to apply the provincial CSWB framework and support the Region of Peel’s CSWB plan. It outlines the many guiding principles and key actions that will shape our steps forward.

'Our Way Forward' focuses on our transition towards providing services from a more proactive and collaborative approach to prevent and mitigate risks to the safety and well-being of our residents and communities. Peel Regional Police has been integrating a CSWB lens within our internal operations and looking at various issues from a perspective of identifying the root cause of specific calls for service and ensuring that people who are genuinely in need of help, receive the right services at the right time. This strategy recognizes that officers are called to many situations that have less to do with crime or public emergencies and more with complex social issues that cannot be resolved in isolation by police.

To achieve the commitments made in 'Our Way Forward', Peel Regional Police is putting partnerships at the centre of everything we do and working in a way that is evidence-based, data-driven and responsive to Peel Region’s diverse communities. We recognize that the public safety of our communities is best served when working in conjunction with our partners in a more balanced, coordinated and integrated manner. ‘Our Way Forward’ is a living document intended to evolve in response to emerging issues and trends within Peel Region, in dialogue with our partners and the communities we serve.

This strategy will continue to shape how Peel Regional Police delivers services to the community. It outlines a number of guiding principles and priorities for action that are responsive to Peel Region’s diverse communities, that build effective partnerships and outlines steps to continue to integrate CSWB within our operations.

Learn more about our Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy.

“The CSWB framework is based on the idea that it is critical to focus more of our efforts upstream to proactively identify and address issues that impact safety and well-being, instead of concentrating downstream after an incident requiring police or other crisis-based services has already occurred.”

-Chief Duraiappah

Learn more about Our Way Forward.

Sharing Our Strategies with Our Neighbours

The International Crisis Invention Team (CIT) held a conference in Pittsburgh where Peel Regional Police representatives attended as presenters. The CIT program is a community partnership of law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, and other partners whose goal is to improve community responses to mental health crises, while helping individuals who live with mental illness and addiction disorders, as well as their families. The conference was attended by over 1,500 individuals from various police agencies, mental health practitioners, organizations, and advocacy groups from across North America.

Our members presented the Mental Health and Addiction Strategy: A Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Approach. Their presentation was well received by those in attendance and lead to relevant and meaningful conversations around best practices with respect to police response to mental health and addiction crises.

Launch of Community Crisis Rapid Response Team and Embedded Community Crisis Rapid Response Team

In the Fall of 2022, Peel Regional Police in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin, Punjabi Community Health Services and Roots Community Services launched the Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (CCRRT) and Embedded Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (ECCRRT) pilot project. These crisis response teams are there to ensure that those in need of low-risk mental health and addiction support and intervention receive the care and access to resources they deserve.

Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (CCRRT)

Crisis personnel from partner agencies attend low-risk mental health calls and provide on-site support. Crisis workers make up non-police teams who are available to immediately respond to low-risk crisis calls as determined by our Communications Centre. The crisis workers responding to these calls are registered nurses, registered social workers or occupational therapists equipped with training and tools to de-escalate crisis situations, provide an on-site rapid assessment and refer individuals to the appropriate support and services when necessary, rather than transporting them to an Emergency Department. Their role is also to educate the community on other community services they can call rather than the police in times of crisis.

Learn more about our Crisis Response Teams.

Embedded Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (ECCRRT)

Crisis personnel resolve low-risk mental health calls and assist individuals by phone. ECCRRT was designed with one crisis worker, stationed within our Communications Centre who assists with de-escalating mental health and addiction calls over the phone when appropriate. This will support the Mobile Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCCRRT) and Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) tiered Crisis Response Model, providing a comprehensive and holistic crisis response with specialized interventions from a cultural lens to improve the quality of life of individuals, families and communities affected by mental health or addictions.

Learn more about our Crisis Response Teams.

Community Intervention Response Team (CIRT) Pilot Project

A one-year pilot project was initiated in 22 Division, creating the Community Intervention Response Team (CIRT) to address local issues, specifically the downtown Brampton core and surrounding area. They were tasked with working in downtown Brampton where there are a large number of community complaints including family violence, homelessness, as well as mental health and addiction issues. This pilot project was developed within the framework of Ontario’s Community Safety and Well-Being Planning Framework.

The pilot allowed the officers time to focus on projects and events, responding to calls, working along-side Brampton business owners and fostering relationships with the local stakeholders. CIRT officers attended meetings with stakeholders to address specific areas in the community that were experiencing issues with criminal activity or other social issues where police could assist. Several of these meetings resulted in the creation of Project Operational Plans in order to address the issues at hand. CIRT officers were able to resolve complaints in a timely manner and were trained to effectively manage and resolve projects or calls by utilizing a combination of police enforcement and CSWB strategies, including referrals for individuals needing resources or to attend a Situation Table. 

Expressing Gratitude Through Art

Two Community Mobilization officers were inspired to collaborate with students from St. Thomas Aquinas and Brampton Multicultural Community Centre’s Newcomer Settlement Program to create an art project that focused on mental health. Students selected to participate had recently immigrated to Canada and the art was a great way of integrating them into their new home and community. Capitalizing on the artistic ability of one of our civilian artists, and with the students as the masterminds behind the art, together they launched ‘City Expressions’. While most students did not have an arts background, they were mentored and taught some fundamental art techniques which became a reciprocal benefit as the mentors refined their own discipline in the process, whether in the arts or policing.

Over several sessions, students participated in creating the mural in one of our facilities and brought together their visual representation of what hope and mental health meant to them. Mentoring relationships were fostered during these sessions, which allowed for candid discussions related to the mental health of youth, police and the community.

The artwork serves as a reminder to Peel Regional Police employees that the work they do is essential and the mental health and wellness of the people in our community is meaningful and significant.

“In knowing that mental health is a powerful discussion, especially for teenagers who just endured two years of a pandemic, we wanted to bring the community together. We recognize that we are all part of this community and must work together to support each other collectively.”

-Community Mobilization Unit Peel Police Officer

“Working with Peel Regional Police was powerful to say the least. The positive influence and impact their staff have on the youth and external staff they work with is immense.”

-Staff member from the Brampton Multicultural Centre.

Project Noisemaker and Project ERASE

Illegal street racing and aggressive high-speed driving continues to be a problem on our roads. To directly address street racing related activities and dangerous driving behaviors, Peel Regional Police took part in Project ERASE (Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere). Project Noisemaker targets vehicles with modified and/or excessively loud exhaust systems on Peel roadways. Drivers were subjected to charges and penalties for these offences under the Highway Traffic Act and municipal laws which could result in seizure of their vehicles and a roadside suspension of their driver’s licence.

The goal of Project ERASE was to change poor and aggressive driver behaviour through education, strategic enforcement and modifying social behaviour. Street racing is illegal and endangers the safety of everyone on the road. To ensure the safety of our community, Peel Regional Police has a zero tolerance for dangerous driving behaviours. Our commitment to road safety is a core policing function and officers remain vigilant 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• From May to October 2022, officers identified hotspot locations throughout Peel Region and targeted those areas. Officers investigated 2,191 vehicles and issued 1,440 Provincial Offence Notices.
• 556 stunt driving charges
• 132 improper/no muffler charges
• 14 Criminal Code charges related to impaired and dangerous driving

Canada Road Safety Week

Canada Road Safety Week is an enforcement-driven initiative led by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP). It is designed to increase public compliance with safe driving measures in order to save lives and reduce injuries on our roads. Peel Regional Police takes road safety very seriously and considers it a core police function, so with support from officers throughout the Region, we took a multi-pronged approach to support this initiative. Offences under the Highway Traffic Act, impaired driving, commercial motor vehicle safety and road safety projects were a part of this enhanced campaign, with the end goal of making the Region of Peel a safer place for motorists and pedestrians.

This campaign should act as a reminder to drivers that the decisions made while operating their vehicle, not only affect themselves, but also passengers, other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians who all share the road. Drivers often make choices on the level of risk they are personally willing to take without any regard for the risk posed to others.

“Road safety is one of our primary areas of focus under the Community Safety and Well-Being paradigm. Our participation in Canada Road Safety Week will lend itself and bring us closer to -accomplishing the goals set out in the Regional Vision Zero plan.”

-Deputy Chief Marc Andrews

Learn more about our Road Safety Services.

Road Safety Services Back to School Safety Campaign

As part of our traffic safety mandate, Road Safety Services initiated the Back to School Safety Campaign with a zero-tolerance approach. Summer months and extended times away from children riding on school buses can relax a driver’s attention in school zones and residential areas when classes resume. Parents are encouraged to review and practice safety rules with their children, ensuring they are familiar with their bus route, safety on and off the bus and pedestrian safety tips.

Peel Regional Police officers take children’s safety seriously and increased police presence within designated school and community safety zones. Those who fail to stop when the flashing red lights are activated and the stop sign deployed face a fine between $400 and $2,000 and six demerit points for their first offence. If convicted a second time within five years, the penalty is between $1,000 and $5,000 with another six demerit points.

Learn more about Road Safety Tips. 

In order to help educate the children in Peel Region about their safety, schools are invited to book a trip for their students to the Peel Children’s Safety Village for a variety of children’s safety programs.

Learn more about Peel Children’s Safety Village.

Peel Sexual Assault Review Committee Update

In 2019, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) announced the Canadian Framework for Collaborative Police Response on Sexual Violence. This included an approach to a sexual violence case review and governance of case review programs. The criteria for case selection was based on victims being 12 years old or over and the culprit or suspect being 18 years old or older. To date, two reviews have been completed involving cases from the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first half of 2020.

Peel Regional Police along with our community partners created a committee to review all sexual assault investigations completed as ‘unfounded’ where no charges were laid. The Peel Sexual Assault Review committee (PSARC) includes members from Interim Place, Hope 24/7 and the Elizabeth Fry Society.

Changes have been made to the process through the initial reviews, and lessons learned reinforced a collaborative and supportive approach to determine best practices in assisting victims of sexual assault and violence. Information gathered will help to implement strategies to improve service delivery for victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence in Peel Region.

1.1 Crime Prevention and Response

Implement crime prevention initiatives, focusing on violent crime and identified community crime trends, and respond effectively to citizen calls for service.

1.1.1
Regional Community Mobilization (RCM) teams and Divisional Mobilization Units (DMU) continue to work with frontline officers to provide outreach programs and foster positive relationships with the community. RCM teams continue to address complex cases involving multiple vulnerabilities and present situations that are at an acutely elevated risk level to the Peel Situation Table in an attempt to mitigate risk. Peel Regional Police and our partners brought forward 109 situations to the Situation Table in 2022. DMU engaged and/or supported 675 individuals from a broad spectrum of priority populations to address root cause issues that generate calls to police that may be better handled by other services.

1.1.2
A new database was developed to track and monitor hate motivated crimes, capturing full contextual material to understand the event and view trends through a 360 lens of hate/bias.

1.1.3
The Communications Centre continues to follow dispatch guidelines to dispatch officers to emergency events. The integration of the Real Time Operations Centre (RTOC) assists in managing core policing resources and ensures that citizens are serviced using modern deployment models to get more efficient response to emergency events.

1.1.4
Responded to 96,304 Citizen-Initiated P5-P9 non-emergency calls by alternative methods including community station and divisional front desk reporting, Collision Reporting Centres (CRC) as well as online reporting with follow-up through Call Diversion Units. Currently there are 3 CRCs located at 11 Division, Headquarters and Shoppers World Brampton.

1.1.5
Crime Prevention educational programs continue to address general themes of increasing personal and business safety, frauds/scams, social media awareness and auto theft awareness. Virtual and in-person presentations were delivered to a variety of audiences. Peel Regional Police participated in a variety of committees including Business Watch (Safe City Mississauga), Peel Alliance to End Homelessness, Integrated Municipal Enforcement Team (IMET), Mississauga Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Committee and Vision Zero (Pedestrian and Road Safety). Crime prevention tips are provided during community engagement events, town halls, social media communication and virtual/in-person meetings. 

1.1.6
In the last Residential Community Survey in 2020, 77 per cent of citizens strongly agreed/agreed that Peel Regional Police is effective at responding quickly to calls for assistance. The next Community Survey will be conducted in 2023.

1.1.7
The 2021 violent crime rate (551 per 100,000) was below the provincial (948) and national (1,323) rates. Property crime rate (1,421 per 100,000) was below the provincial (2,349) and national (3,044) rates.

1.1.8
The 2021 solvency rate for violent crimes (71 per cent) was above the provincial (61 per cent) and national (57 per cent) rates. Solvency rate for property crimes (17 per cent) was above the provincial (16 per cent) rate and equal to the national (17 per cent) rate.

1.2 Emergency Management Planning and Response

Ongoing review and collaboration with policing and emergency response partners to maintain a coordinated Emergency Management Plan.

1.2.1
Conducted a review of the Peel Regional Police Emergency Management Plan. Continued to support and assist in major or critical events with the Mass Casualty Unit, comprised of both uniform and civilian members. The School Police Emergency Action Response Program includes 489 schools.

1.2.2
Major Incident Operations led a full-scale training exercise which incorporated a unified response to an active hostile event. Community partners who assisted with this event included; Mississauga Fire, Brampton Fire, Region of Peel Emergency Medical Services and Region of Peel Emergency Management.

1.2.3
Major Incident Operations signed a Memorandum of Understanding with “Medic Alert – Connect Protect”, a volunteer agency assisting with vulnerable and missing persons. This program provides emergency services with immediate and secure, 24/7 access to a MedicAlert subscribers electronic medical profile and personal information in the event of an emergency.

1.3 Intimate Partner and Family Violence

Support awareness, education and response to intimate partner and family violence.

1.3.1
The Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Unit increased the compliment of officers from 48 to 64 investigators to meet the demand for calls for service and investigation of intimate partner disputes. Joint training opportunities were developed for IPV officers and community partners and implemented the BSAFER Risk Assessment, a standardized effective risk assessment tool to utilize in investigations. To help ensure victim safety, Project Keep Safe was developed to target high risk offenders, to conduct compliance checks on known offenders and to locate offenders wanted on warrants.

1.3.2
In partnership with our community partners, the Journey to Justice Guidebook was developed and published to raise community awareness and provide information pertaining to the resources available to victims of IPV. Participated in a variety of interviews to raise awareness and provide education to give women tools to prevent victimization as well as maintaining a continued involvement in the Region of Peel’s Family and Intimate Partner Violence (FIPV) Awareness Campaign, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and developed the hashtag #BreakTheSilence for that campaign.

Conducted presentations on the IPV Unit and its collaboration with the Safe Centre of Peel to various police agencies and advisories from Montreal, Quebec, Edmonton and the Caribbean Islands. 

1.4 Mental Health and Addictions

Review response to mental health calls and identify partners to provide mental health support to community members.

1.4.1

Collaborated with the Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin, Punjabi Community Health Services and Roots Community Services on a pilot project that was launched in 2022 to redirect low risk mental health and addiction calls to non-police teams to connect people to the resources most appropriate to their needs. The Community Crisis team pilot was launched throughout the Region of Peel in July of 2022 and a Crisis Worker was embedded in our Communication Centre in September.

1.4.2

Collaborated and consulted with community stakeholders and experts in the field of mental health to design systems and public policies to connect those with mental health concerns with the care they require. Collaborated with community stakeholders and developed a service delivery model that diverts mental health crisis calls for service to qualified crisis support personnel when a law enforcement response is deemed unnecessary. Together, we developed a cohesive agreement that provided a health care approach limiting police officers from health care pathways. Through the interactions from our health care providers over 70% of those interactions were identified as unique persons.

1.4.3
Embedded a crisis personnel within Communications to help resolve low-risk mental health calls by referring individuals to appropriate community partners by phone. Established a pilot project to deploy crisis personnel from partner agencies to attend low-risk mental health calls and provide on-site support. The Mobile Community Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCCRRT) continued to respond to members of the community, where a uniform officer is paired with a community-based crisis personnel to respond to high level mental health and addiction calls for service. In addition, the Crisis Outreach and Support Team (plain clothes officer and a crisis personnel) follows-up with individuals who have experienced a mental health crisis to help support them and offer connections to resources. MCCRRT attended 2,467 calls for service in 2022 and COAST completed 1,339 follow-ups.

1.5 Priority Populations

Work collaboratively with Community Safety and Well-Being partners to identify and improve outcomes for priority populations.

1.5.1
Developed and launched the 'Our Way Forward' strategy to guide how the organization operationalizes a Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) approach to serving the community. As a key component of Peel Regional Police’s CSWB approach, Divisional Mobilization Units (DMU) continued to solidify their role to support priority populations in partnership with the community. This included direct engagement and/or support with more than 675 unique individuals from a broad spectrum of priority populations to address root cause issues that generate unnecessary calls to police. DMU regularly makes referrals to community partners including the Open Window Hub, Regeneration Community Outreach, Peel Addiction, Assessment and Referral Centre (PAARC), SEVA Food Bank, ResQ Youth and many others.
CSWB Our Way Forward Strategy

1.5.2
Priority populations continue to be identified in partnership with the community. The formation of a Peel Autism collaborative to enhance how Peel Regional Police serves individuals with autism and targeted efforts to more effectively respond to individuals who require mental health and addiction services. A pilot was launched in collaboration with the Peel Addiction, Assessment and Referral Centre and Punjabi Community Health Services to connect individuals in custody to support services to address underlying addiction issues that contribute to crime and incarceration.     

1.5.3
Consultations continued with the community to inform the work of the Human Rights Project. Other consultations and engagement efforts included:

• Community agencies that serve residents with autism to provide a foundation for improving Peel Regional Police’s response to this priority population.
• Peel youth to strengthen our understanding of how best to engage with young persons in Peel; additional consultations will be held in 2023 towards the further development of a Peel Regional Police Youth Strategy.
• Malton community to work with stakeholders to explore opportunities to enhance safety and well-being.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Unit was actively involved in 285 community events that included community meetings and presentations, and 421 places of worship were visited. The Elder Abuse Unit conducted 45 presentations with 900 participants and 356 community consultations.

1.5.4
The 2021 clearance rate for Criminal Code violations for youth (62 per cent) was above provincial rate (46 per cent) and the national rate (42 per cent).

1.5.5
The 2021 crime rate for Criminal Code violations for youth, excluding traffic violations (392 per 100,000) was below the provincial rate (681) and the national rate (921).

1.5.6
Initiated 96 Problem Oriented Policing (POP) projects to help target community issues. Proactively reached Peel Region’s elderly population through safety promotion and victim prevention by disseminating 5,000 educational and awareness materials. 65 members received training in the Run-Hide-Defend program, teaching them life saving strategies that can be used in the event of an active attacker. The intent of this training is to provide our Places of Worship awareness as it relates to the potential of an active attack on faith based institutions. These sessions have been offered to commercial and retail businesses for future training.

1.5.7
The Chief’s Resource Council model now includes plans for sub-councils to ensure that a wide range of diverse perspectives are informing the Chief and senior leadership. A regular meeting schedule is being established.

1.5.8
The Peel Situation Table continued in 2022, incorporating service providers from Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon. This multi-agency, multi-sectorial collaboration focuses on identifying situations that are at an acutely elevated level of risk and providing prioritized access to supports in an attempt to mitigate this risk. Peel Situation Table dealt with 109 cases this year, an increase of 38% from 79 situations in 2021.

1.5.9
Established a protocol to guide how police and boards of education engage and work together to ensure student safety. Resumed the Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) program post-COVID through enhanced programming and a newly formed partnership with Sheridan College. 25 youth participated and graduated from the program in 2022. The program is planned to be expanded to 40 youth in 2023 based on additional funding and program success.   

1.6 Road Safety

Improve road safety through education, enforcement and proactive strategies and focus on the Community Safety and Well-Being Vision Zero goal.

1.6.1
Continued with initiatives intended to curb potentially dangerous driving behaviours including: School Zone, Seatbelt and Distractive Driving campaigns. Project Noisemaker and Project ERASE (Eliminate Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere) targeted unnecessary noise, illegally-modified vehicles and Street Racing. Project ERASE investigated 1,645 vehicles and laid 837 charges. Truck Inspection Blitzes were conducted to promote commercial vehicle safety as well as enforcement blitzes along major roadways such as Highway 50 and Winston Churchill to target stunt driving and speeding.

1.6.2
Road Watch and Strategic Enforcement officers worked collaboratively with the Brampton and Mississauga transportation services and City Councilors in addressing road safety concerns through Town Hall meetings and Road Safety Committees. Through the implementation of an enhanced Road Watch reporting system and our continued commitment to Road Safety, our Road Watch and Strategic Enforcement Officers were able to streamline and address community traffic complaints. High traffic complaint areas were closely monitored to reduce aggressive driving behaviours such as speeding, improper use of lanes, disobey signs and heavy trucks on prohibited roadways.

1.6.3
The traffic fatality rate was two per 100,000 population. 34 fatal collisions resulted in 37 deaths, 14 of which were pedestrians and three cyclists. The personal injury accident rate was 73 per 100,000. 1,116 personal injuries were reported, a rate decrease of five per cent from 2021 (1,065).

1.6.4
Analysis of collision data, calls for service, driving-related charges and traffic complaint areas continued to guide proactive enforcement throughout the year. Collision density analysis and high traffic complaint areas were used by Strategic Enforcement officers to target unsafe and illegal driving behaviours and to address community safety concerns. Hotspot analysis of impaired driving calls for service helped determine areas for the Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit to target and mitigate impaired driving throughout the Region. Location density analysis of impaired driving calls for service and frequented drinking establishments were also used to augment police information for RIDE enforcement. Calls for service on street racing were used to determine areas of focus for the ERASE teams. Analysis to generate lists of outstanding and prolific driving offenders for the Safer Roads Team to monitor compliance and apprehend offenders.

1.7 Victim Assistance and Community Support

Collaborate with community partners to identify and provide support to community members and implement the Community Safety and Well-Being framework.

1.7.1
The Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Unit was increased to 64 officers. The IPV Unit actively works with the Safe Centre of Peel (SCoP) as an onsite partner to connect survivors and those at risk of family violence to community supports and resources. Peel Regional Police and SCoP have expanded this partnership by securing funding to pilot a co-response model to verbal domestic calls for service to offer supports further upstream to reduce the number of individuals who are victimized.

1.7.2
Community Mobilization continued to work with our community partners, including Victim Services of Peel, to support individuals who are victims of crime. We have participated in the Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee since 2015 to address the needs of victims/survivors of human trafficking. The regional anti-human trafficking services hub, nCourage, provides low-barrier, wraparound services for individuals and is a coordinated approach to addressing the issue of human trafficking.