In response to recent gun violence, Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory announced a $3 million plan to place 200 more officers throughout the city during the pivotal times when shootings are most likely to take place. Starting next Friday and running for eight weeks, additional officers will be deployed throughout the city between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. — a presence Saunders stresses will be “intelligence-led” and will not result in police flooding into entire neighbourhoods. “Our focus during this time frame will be intelligence-led, with the intention of not saturating the neighbourhoods, but to have our police officers focused on those very few who are motivated to have access, and to use, guns across the city,” Saunders told reporters at a news conference at police headquarters Thursday. READ MORE:Experts warn against return to policing that targets ‘communities and not individuals’Opinion | Police union warns city ‘dangerously underserviced’Another $12 million, Tory said, is being proposed to fund existing community programs serving at-risk youth.Saunders and Tory presented a united front — what was promised to be “gun violence reduction plan” — after they have each been the subject of attack by the Toronto Police Association and some factions within uniformed officers, who claim the current push to modernize the police service is to blame for a recent increase in violence.Saunders acknowledged the spike in gunplay has “definitely caused some concern towards citizens in Toronto” but said he was confident the plan announced Thursday — a coordinated effort with city hall and other city divisions — would work.The increased police presence, he said, will be enabled by overtime and temporary expanded shifts during certain times. It’s part of a larger effort to redeploy officers in a more strategic and targeted way — sending them to fewer non-emergency ...
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