No. The livelihood of the police depends on scaring us into thinking that more cops means less crime, despite multiple studies showing otherwise. A new study compared 20 Canadian cities and found that there was no direct correlation between consistent increases to policy budgets and a decline in crime. 

The Toronto Police has asked for a $20 million increase to bring their annual budget to nearly $1.2 billion, in hopes of hiring more than 300 new police officers. The fact is that more officers does not mean less crime. Over-policing efforts increase police violence, leading to erosion of trust and decline in community-police relationships, especially due to well-publicized cases in Ontario and Quebec.

Prevention is better than reinforcement. Reallocating funds to outreach workers, crisis counsellors, and social programs makes our streets safer. Police are increasingly being called upon as first-line responders involving people in crisis, with research suggesting that around 68 percent of these calls result in deadly force. The risk of experiencing police violence increases for stigmatized and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. In fact, in June 2022, the Toronto Police released a report acknowledging systemic racism and discrimination towards racialized groups.

“The more we police our neighbourhoods and communities, the more fragmented they will be. That is what police achieve: a breakdown of neighbourhoods through violence, intimidation, surveillance, and criminalization.” We have to look at better alternatives that make way for community- and civilian-led services.

Investing in social programs and services helps build a stronger city. We need to bring transformative change and “imagine otherwise.” Delivering on better community services such as access to shelter, addressing the food crisis (2.5 million visits to food banks between April 2022 and March 2023), investing in school communities are some alternatives to how we can invest our money better and choose care over cops.

Toronto has one of the lowest tax rates across the country, and both Rob Ford and John Tory are the reason for this. Because they kept taxes so low, Toronto is in a serious budget deficit which has significantly harmed our city’s services and infrastructure (you know, those overflowing garbage cans?). A 10.5% tax increase for homeowners means the property tax rate will increase up to 0.75% - approximately $30/month. These funds go to FUND DESPERATELY NEEDED CITY SERVICES. We need to freeze the cop budget, and fund the things this city desperately needs.