By: Surjit Singh Flora
BRAMPTON, ON (January 24, 2020) – Today, the City of Brampton welcomed the Ontario government’s funding announcement of $20.5 million for Peel Regional Police to increase resources to strengthen community safety initiatives.
During the announcement, Mayor Patrick Brown, who sits on the Peel Police Services Board, spoke to the significance of this investment, which supports the Peel Regional Police’s Community Mobilization Program and Ontario’s Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.
The City of Brampton has consistently advocated for greater collaboration in building stronger and safer communities. At the 2019 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annual Conference, the Mayor-led City Delegation spoke directly with the Solicitor General about the greater need for collaboration, engagement and funding support among all levels of government to enable a holistic approach to community safety and well-being in the City of Brampton and across the Region of Peel.
Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton said who is a Member of Peel Police Services Board, “Gangs don’t respect postal codes. It is a GTA-wide problem. We can never underestimate the sophistication of criminal organizations who know full well which regions have more diminished response capabilities. I am grateful that Premier Ford and Solicitor General Jones have heard our call for guns and gang funding. This is an important tool that our police require to keep Brampton and Peel Region safe.”
Also, David Barrick, Chief Administrative Officer said, “Creating the right environment to promote a healthy and safe city is at the heart of everything we do to advance this important Term of Council priority. Every step in the right direction to make our community safer will help boost confidence of residents, stakeholders and investors, and pave the way for long-term success and prosperity of our city.”
· (From Left to Right): Bonnie Crombie, Mayor, City of Mississauga; Nando Iannicca, Chair, Region of Peel; Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton & Member; Nishan (Nish) Duraiappah, Chief, Peel Regional Police; Doug Ford, Premier; Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General; Douglas Downey, Attorney General
While Charmaine Williams, City Councillor and Chair, Brampton Community Safety Advisory Committee said “You can’t build a great city without safe streets. The recent uptick in gun and gang activity needs to be stopped before it even gets started. That can only happen when all orders of government work together. This funding announcement will go a long way to giving the Peel Regional Police the resources they need to keep the people of Brampton safer.”
“Our government is doing everything in its power to fight gun and gang violence and build safer communities,” Premier Doug Ford said. “Today we are giving our men and women in uniform even more resources to target violent criminals and put them behind bars – where they belong.”
Part of the funding will go towards Peel Regional Police’s Community Mobilization Program. This initiative assigns police officers to small teams that work directly with members of the community on projects to improve public safety including neighbourhood watches, town hall meetings, and cultural community outreach. This initiative is part of the $195 million total investment the province is making over the next three years through the province’s new Community Safety and Policing (CSP) Grant program announced last month.
“Our police services and their partners know best what they need to combat crime in their communities,” said Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General. “The investment we are making today in Peel Region will help deploy additional frontline officers and take action where and when it is needed most.”
In addition, the stable and consistent funding will help support Peel Regional Police’s fight against gun and gang violence as part of Ontario’s Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy. Both initiatives build on the investment Ontario has already committed to create an Intensive Firearm Bail Team in Peel Region to focus on prosecuting those involved in firearms offences in the Greater Toronto Area starting this year.
“We are escalating the local fight against gangs who prey on young and vulnerable people in Peel Region and other communities across Ontario,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “Together, we are determined to keep families and communities safe by supporting local police and specialized prosecutors.”
“Public safety is the number one priority of Peel Regional Police,” said Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah. “This provincial funding will support our comprehensive approach to mitigating and ending gun and gang violence. We look forward to enhancing our response to this serious risk in our community.”
“On behalf of my Board colleagues, I want to thank the Premier and the provincial government for their investment in the resources required by Peel Regional Police to tackle escalating gun and gang violence in our Region,” said Nando Iannicca, Peel Regional Chair. “Today’s announcement is another example of how we are working with our provincial partners to ensure we provide a safe and healthy community for all our residents.”
Region of Peel – The Ontario government is providing $20.5 million to Peel Regional Police to give police officers the tools and resources they need to increase community policing, combat gun and gang violence, and keep streets safe.
Today’s funding announcement also complements a number of partnerships in place that bolster Brampton’s community safety efforts, including:
• Peel Regional Police’s recent announcement to open a Downtown Brampton Substation to increase presence and improve care for people in the area
• City of Brampton’s Lighthouse Program, which enables the community to seek refuge within the premises of participating faith-based organizations during times of community-wide emergencies
• The City’s advocacy for installing CCTV cameras on 410 and 403 Highways to improve monitoring capabilities
