What changes have been made since the death of Sammy Yatim?                     

On the 27^th of January 2016, I wrote a very lengthy article about the shooting death of a dying and totally disabled teenager in a Toronto streetcar by a Toronto police officer who was recently convicted of attempted murder of this young man after shooting the young man while he was dying from the fatal injury of his heart cause by that same officer five seconds earlier.

Inside the Toronto Police College last week, more than 75 mental health activists and members of the policing community witnessed the very latest in annual training that will be offered to all members of the force.

Developed in conjunction with mental health rights groups and survivors, the training emphasizes skills and characteristics that advocates and health professionals have long said are must-haves for police: empathy, communication and understanding.

Officers are currently being taught to establish a connection with a person in crisis that’s founded more on mutual respect and less on authority;  a tactic sometimes called “dissolving the uniform.” In other words, give the suspect the feeling that he isn’t so much dealing with a hard-nosed police officer but a reasonable person who wants to understand the man’s problems.

But if the Toronto Police Service is serious about changing police culture around use-of-force, some researchers and police experts say it’s vital the force becomes more discerning about who gets to wear a uniform to begin with. Unfortunately there are far too many police officers who are bullies and shouldn’t have been accepted by the police services they work in. The recent killing of Sammy Yatim by Toronto Police Officer Forcillo is proof of this. 

Darryl Davies, a criminology instructor at Carleton University said, “All the evidence points to the fact that the police thin blue line, or police subculture, is the most influential factor in changing a police officer’s behaviour and attitudes.”

He also said, “Recruiters need to be on the lookout for wannabe cops exhibiting a “tough macho cop” attitude;  the kind of officer who may be more willing to shoot than talk  because there is little place for it in modern policing.

Retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci wrote in his 2014 review of Toronto police use of force, commissioned after the 2013 police shooting death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim by Officer Forcillo.

 “If the Toronto Police Service wants its officers to exhibit certain admirable traits, such as compassion and a healthy attitude toward people with mental illness, it is then important to search for these traits in the hiring process.”

Iacobucci’s review included a critical look at the psychological screening conducted by Toronto police prior to hiring and he said it does not go far enough. The service uses the 16 Personality Factor and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory two commonly used tests to determine adult personality traits.

These tests, along with an interview with one of the force’s psychologists, will help identify recruits with traits that Iacobucci calls “crucial to meeting the complex demands of modern policing” along with emotional intelligence, empathy, tolerance of diversity, and patience. But the psychological screening has limitations since the tests, for instance, are sometimes so unreliable as to be invalid according to Iacobucci.

He also said that in light of the service’s limited power to dismiss, suspend or otherwise discipline officers for misconduct, the role of the Psychological Services in screening for psychopathology and searching for undesirable traits  is all that more important. Those who are deemed to be undesirable candidates can be screened out before they are hired.

The retired judge made several recommendations aimed at improving the screening process within the Toronto Police Service and attracting the best recruits—some of who have already been chosen, while others are still under review.

The Toronto Police Service now says it prefers candidates who have completed a mental health first aid course. Iacobucci had said police should make it mandatory for new constables to ensure familiarity with this “core aspect of police work,” but Toronto police expressed some concern it might limit the pool of applicants if other police services did not set the same standard.

What they are saying is that those who haven’t taken a mental health first aid course will not bother to apply to the Toronto Police Service for employment and instead choose to serve in in another police service. Well, if that happens, that other police service will not get the type of police officer that is as desirable as the Toronto Police Service gets.

The Toronto Police force has also implemented the recommendation that applicants who have post-secondary education are preferred; typically, 80 per cent of recruits hired have some post-secondary credentials, according to the Toronto Police Service. (TPS)

But the TPS is still only considering a recommendation that would give police psychologists a greater role in the hiring process. Currently, results of psychological testing must be summarized into a report in somewhat limiting terms: “suitable,” “suitable with concerns,” or “not suitable.” Any concerns about the suitability of a candidate for hire “must be described in t Iacobucci’s report.

Psychological testing for officers under consideration for the high-stress, high-risk Emergency Task Force (ETF) unit is more exhaustive. There, the evaluations include personality and cognitive testing and a comprehensive psychological interview that lasts two and a half hours.

The psychologist is looking for everything from a stable mood and ability to remain calm under stress, to a personal sense of ethics and justice, to sufficient patience and low impulssivity, according to Iacobucci’s report.

Iacobucci highlighted the fact that psychologists are far more involved when hiring ETF members. Rather than simply providing a written report, they discuss the findings about the applicant directly with the selection committee. This discussion enables the psychologists to communicate any concerns raised in relation to the suitability of candidates.

In a detailed response to Iacobucci’s recommendations the Toronto Police Service said it recognized the potential value of relying more on psychologists at the hiring stage, but said given the timelines associated with recruiting and hiring, it may be difficult. The recommendation is under review.

Medicine Hat Police Chief Andy McGrogan says there may be a simpler way.

Last year, the top cop in the small Alberta city spearheaded a unique hiring experiment that may be instructive for forces struggling with soaring costs and attempting to attract officers best suited to modern policing.

Chief McGrogan said that since he needed to hire eight new cops for his 115-officer force, he ran a three-month “audition—a process, that is not unlike The Amazing Race.

His police force brought on 11 potential recruits, called “police cadets and paid them a stipend of $1000 a month and trained them for 17 weeks. They also partnered with a community college and got the program accredited, so that all the participants got a one-year academic accreditation, no matter what subject the took. From the start of the program, the cadets knew only eight would get hired. McGrogan said that in his own class, there were four or five “who should never have been hired.

He said that that way the police service gets to see their values, their decision-making and for that reason, it really separated out the ones the police service really wanted to hire and the ones they didn’t.

He also said that the decision to hire an officer is enormous since. It’s typically a 25- to 30-year investment. He said that from his experience, “almost every time” he has had to deal with a problem employee, he could go back to the recruiting stage and see signs that the person wasn’t cut out for the job.

The Medicine Hat Police Service will continue to use their hiring system in the future, mainly because it helps identify which recruits have the “number one skill—he ability to communicate and interact with the community. Those kinds of applicants who have good interaction and social skills are the ones that every police service really needs as their police officers.

Recently inside the Toronto Police College more than 75 mental health activists and members of the policing community witnessed the very latest in annual training that will be offered to all members of the force.

It was developed in conjunction with mental health rights groups and survivors and as such, the training emphasizes skills and characteristics that advocates and health professionals have long said are must-haves for police: empathy, communication and understanding.

But if the Toronto Police Service is serious about changing police culture around use-of-force, some researchers and police experts say it’s vital the Toronto Police Service becomes more discerning about who gets to wear a uniform to begin with.

All the evidence points to the fact that the police thin blue line, or police subculture, is the most influential factor in hindering favourable police officer’s behaviour and attitudes,”

Certainly police recruiters need to be on the lookout for wannabe cops exhibiting a “tough macho cop” attitude—the kind of officer who may be more willing to shoot than talk  because there is no place for these kinds of police officers in modern policing,

Iacobucci wrote in part in his 2014 review, “If TPS wants its officers to exhibit certain traits, including compassion and a healthy attitude toward people with mental illness, it is important to select for these traits in the hiring process.  

Here’s an update on changes that have been made following Yatim’s death on three key issues.

Iacobucci recommended Toronto police consider expanding the use of Conducted Energy Weapons, or Tasers — currently, only front-line supervisors, about 275 officers, have the weapon — and that may happen in the long term.

But in the shorter term, Toronto police service’s less lethal weapon of choice is the so-called “sock round,” a shotgun that has been converted to shoot a small bean bag instead of a bullet. The bean bag ‘bullets’ do not penetrate the skin. The guns will be distributed to all divisions throughout the city.

Toronto police confirmed earlier this month that they have also purchased military style rifles to be paired with the sock guns. The idea behind the coupling of the weapons — wherever one is available, the other will be as well — is to give officers different levels of force, though the purchase of the C8 carbine rifles lead to some criticism the police service is becoming overly militarized.

Shortly after Const. James Forcillo was found guilty of attempted murder in Yatim’s death this week, the family’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, specifically commented on the need for more action when it comes to Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams. (MCIT)

MCITs, as they’re known, involve the pairing of a mental-health nurse with a police officer so together they can respond to calls involving people with mental health challenges. Following Iacobucci’s report, the force made it mandatory that MCIT units be notified of every call involving a person in crisis.

Toronto police have also altered the hours of operation of its MCITs to increase the likelihood that the duo can respond during peak times: midday and late afternoon. But as Falconer pointed out this week, the teams are “still are not available 24/7 across this city.” Toronto police deputy chief Mike Federico, who is overseeing the implementation of the Iacobucci report, has said the hours of operation are continually being assessed.

When the police applicants graduate next month, the latest crop of recruits will have had the benefit of an extra three weeks of education, thanks to a recommendation in the Iacobucci report.

Toronto police have also increased the amount of annual in-service training, upping the days from two to three. That new training was on display this week at the Toronto Police College to about 75 mental health activists, stakeholders and members of the Toronto Police Services Board, including Mayor John Tory.

In an interview afterwards, Mayor Tory said the new training teaches officers to “go back to the good old fashioned ‘use your brain.’ ” They’re also taught to use “hooks” and not “triggers” in language, Tory said; instead of telling someone in crisis that it’s clear they’re off their medication, officers are encouraged to say: “I can’t help but notice that you’re very sad today. 

Hopefully, mentally ill people who are in crisis will be treated better that what Sammy Yatim received from trigger-happy police officer Forcillo.

A career in policing is primarily about one thing and that is working with people to ensure public safety through crime prevention and law enforcement. Police work requires that a constable be able to build relationships in the community, showing sensitivity to and concern for the needs of people from all races, cultures and backgrounds. Police work is also demanding. A police constable must work shifts, including evenings, nights and weekends, at all times of the year. This is not a job that everyone will like, or can do well.

The Ontario Police Services Act describes four key areas of responsibility for a police constable such as preserving the peace; preventing crimes and providing assistance to citizens in their prevention of crimes, assisting victims of crime; apprehending and charging offenders and executing warrants.

Members of the community should be able to move about and conduct their personal and business lives without fear of danger, crime, intimidation, or harassment. The Toronto Police Service must ensure that we have the ability and are prepared to deal with incidents that can affect a large number of people such as large-scale emergency events, hate crime, crime facilitated by technology, or crimes which may affect entire communities. At the same time, the Service must strive to provide people with the information they need to realistically assess safety and levels of crime in their communities.

Once a police trainee has been appointed to the rank of constable, he or she will progress through four classifications, from fourth class constable to first class constable. Their initial employment will include a period of probation. With good performance and availability of opportunities they  will be eligible for promotion to higher ranks.

A front-line constable in Toronto and elsewhere has a dangerous and unpredictable job and as such, they are required to do everything from picking up drunks from the gutter, controlling traffic, looking for missing persons,  to investigating brutal scenes of violence. Many of them earn as much as $100,000 a year. For that kind of money, the citizens expect all the police officers to do their best, be honest at the same time, treat citizens with respect who have not committed crimes, and not unnecessarily cause physical harm to those they arrest, do not harass fellow officers and don’t be incompetent.  

I can remember when Toronto police officers in the robbery squad would throw suspects who were handcuffed into the lake to get a confession from them. Some suspects would be handcuffed to a bicycle at the top of the stairs in a police station and shoved down the stairs. Another suspect was suspended outside a second story window and subsequently was accidentally dropped and killed. There were police officers who insisted that prostitutes have sex with them under the pain of arrest if they didn’t. Fortunately, those days are long gone.

However, nowadays, there are some police officers in the Toronto Police Service who commit crimes or mistreat citizens and some of them have escaped punishment for these crimes. The mistreatment of citizens includes framing them for crimes they didn’t commit, lying in court, using police services for their personal use and being trigger-happy.

Just recently, four Toronto police officers have been charged with framing an innocent citizen by planting an illicit drug in his car and another police officer was convicted of attempted murder after having shot a disabled dying person who was lying on the floor of a streetcar.

With this horrible history behind the Toronto Police Service (TPS), it is currently committing itself to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. The TPS believes in integration and equal opportunity and the TPS is presently committed to meeting the needs of people with mental disabilities in a timely manner. The 2013 shooting of a mentally ill teenager when non-shooting the young man was a more suitable way to deal with him has brought home the need for better ways to deal with these unfortunate people.

                   

The Toronto Police Service has promised to improve its services to the people of Toronto. Women who have been victimized by violence will continue to remain a focus for the Toronto Police Service. Mentally ill persons will be treated with as much care as possible when they are in crisis.

                   

The policy of stopping citizens (especially blacks) that was called “carding” and done for no legitimate reason other than just to get information about them so the information can be placed in a data base had been stopped. Now the president of the Toronto Police Union wants to return that process back.                                                                                   

The Toronto Police Service intends to use a less lethal weapon of choice which is referred to as the so-called “sock round,”—a shotgun that has been converted to shoot a small bean bag instead of a bullet. The bean-bag ‘bullets’ do not penetrate the skin. The guns will be distributed to all divisions throughout the city.

Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams.( MCITs), as they’re known, involve the pairing of a mental-health nurse with a police officer so together they can respond to calls involving people with mental health challenges. Following retires Supreme Court Justice Iacobucci’s report, the force made it mandatory that MCIT units be notified of every call involving a person suffering from a mental illness and is in crisis. Unfortunately the teams are “still are not available 24/7 across this city.” Toronto police deputy chief Mike Federico, who is overseeing the implementation of the Iacobucci Report, has said the hours of operation are continually being assessed.

 When the latest crop of recruits graduate, they will have had the benefit of an extra three weeks of education on mental illness thanks to a recommendation in the Iacobucci Report. The Toronto police have also increased the amount of annual in-service training, increasing the days from two to three. That new training was on display recently at the Toronto Police College to about 75 mental health activists, stakeholders and members of the Toronto Police Services Board, including Mayor John Tory.

In my opinion, the time between a charge laid against a Toronto Police officer and the police hearing should be shortened. Last year I attended a police hearing where as much as three years had passed before the Inspector who was charged with sexually harassing a female police officer was tried, convicted and dismissed from the Police Service. All that time while he and everyone else waited for the final hearing, he was paid over three hundred thousand dollars to do nothing but report to the police headquarters twice a day.     

The thin blue line in which police officers protect other fellow officers for their wrongdoings should be something of the past. Any police officer who has been caught doing this should be dismissed from the police service.

A police force is only as good as its members. Like the old adage, a rotten apple spoils the barrel; the same applies with rotten cops.  They have to be removed from the police force as soon as possible and if their offences constitutes crimes, they should be criminally charged. To let them remain in the police force will create a smell that will reach the nostrils of every citizen in the community.