TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Dennis Hanagan –
Police at 51 Division are finding social media a useful tool to tell the community why they’ve increased the number of foot patrol officers in the neighbourhoods of Regent Park, St. James Town and the Sherbourne corridor this summer.
The beefed-up presence is in response to seven gang-related incidents of firearms being discharged in the division in the first few months of this year.
To counter the violence, police now patrol with 10 officers per shift. By extending shift hours, 30 officers in separate teams are on foot in the three neighbourhoods on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. There are still officers in cruisers to take radio calls.
But Det. Const. Mark Kennedy, who runs 51 Divison’s Facebook program, realizes a sudden increase in police numbers can leave a negative impression with community members. He suggests they might feel they’re being profiled.
That’s where Facebook and Twitter come in, says Kennedy, to correct that misconception. “We’re really trying to utilize it to get the word out as to what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
Those firearm discharges, by the way, involved “an issue” as Kennedy puts it, between the Regent Park Sick Thugs gang and the Project Originals gang in Alexandra Park in 14 Division where there were six or seven firearm discharges around the same time as the ones in 51 Division.
No one was shot in those incidents.
“We identified a problem and teamed up with 14 Division to try to quell this issue,” Kennedy told The Bulletin. It got dubbed Project Post because that’s the acronym for the gangs’ names.
51 Division was already using social media before the gang flare-ups. But it was for simple things like traffic safety tips and to relay information about traffic tie-ups.
With the launch of Project Post, Facebook and Twitter suddenly became a vital communication connection with the community. It’s instantaneous, unlike the old method in which police would issue press releases to Toronto media and wait for them to broadcast or print the announcements.
Police want to connect with the younger generation who, for many newcomer families, are English interpreters for their parents and elders—they are their families’ conduit with the English-language world.
“With social media, especially the younger generation, that’s where they are,” says Kennedy. “For us to almost stay archaic and do things the way we did by doing media releases—you can’t count on [teens] to pick up a newspaper or to be watching [tv news] when our Toronto police media release is read.”
“With social media, one of the best things [it has] done is to open the door to the younger generation, and they are really our target audience,” says Kennedy.
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly brought Toronto police into the social media era. He saw police forces around the world using it and realized Toronto should take advantage of it, too.
Kennedy’s Facebook gets between 30 and 70 check-ins a day. The majority is from what Kennedy calls “locally-driven groups” such as a church food bank or a residents’ group. But even some BIAs and social support groups have checked in.
Sometimes there’s constructive criticism. One resident told Kennedy via Facebook he saw eight officers standing around a young teen on his bike, and it looked intimidating for the teen. Kennedy readily admits the optics “look bad” and it gave police a chance to see how their actions look “from the other side of the fence.”
As a result the Division’s superintendent instructed officers not to travel in groups larger than three. For personal safety reasons officers don’t travel alone.
A few “tips” have come over Facebook, but Kennedy says police prefer that citizens use Crime Stoppers for that purpose by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Ultimately, Kennedy would like Facebook to become a community forum with himself as moderator.
“We got a lot of great people in this Division with a lot of great ideas. To me this is almost like being able to hold a [community police liaison committee] meeting everyday where somebody can bring an issue to the table,” says Kennedy.
“As a police representative I can offer my two cents coming from a law and order side, but there could be somebody with 30 years experience in social programs or community development. They can add to it [the forum] as well.”
Encouraging community use of the program, he says, “I don’t see this as our [Toronto police] Facebook site. It’s got to be the community’s Facebook site.”
