Increasing Supports to Improve Community Safety

The Ontario government is investing more than $267 million over three years to provide police services across the province with significant new resources to safeguard their local communities.

Ninety police service boards are receiving funding through the Community Safety and Policing Grant Program for 147 public safety initiatives focusing on local and provincial priorities such as gun and gang violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, mental health and addictions and hate-motivated crime. Many projects will be undertaken in collaboration with community partners.

“Community safety is a top priority, and our government has been strengthening our justice system to protect communities and hold offenders accountable,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “This investment is another way we are helping police services address local challenges and improve the well-being of the people they serve. Whether to combat the opioid crisis, share intelligence, or prevent violent crime, this funding will make a difference in all corners of Ontario.”

The $267 million investment in the Community Safety and Policing Grant Program includes:

• Approximately $225 million through the local priorities stream to help police services address priority issues such as enhanced police intelligence sharing, expanding mental health supports, preventing crime in schools, combatting bullying, sexual violence, human trafficking, cyber-crime, enhancing road safety and acquiring new technology.

• $43 million to address provincewide priorities such as training for police officers so they are better equipped to handle sexual violence and harassment investigations, identify signs of human trafficking and interact with victims of human trafficking: crime prevention initiatives for at-risk youth and other vulnerable groups and equipment purchases that support policing operations and activities such as enhanced software/technology.

Peel Regional Police Service is receiving grant funding for Project Care and the expansion of the service’s Intimate Partner Violence Unit; Project Aegis and the creation of an analytics bureau to gather centralized data and ensure policing programs are achieving their desired outcomes; and the Traffic Enforcement Unit and Community Street Crime Unit within the Caledon Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Peel Regional Police Service will also receive $1.5 million over three years to support the fight against local gang violence. Through the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy, with support from the federal government, Ontario has invested $188.5 million to combat gun and gang violence since 2018.

“I want to thank the Government of Ontario and more precisely the Solicitor General for this significant community safety funding that will support the operationalization of Project Aegis and Project Care,” said Nishan Duraiappah, Chief of Peel Regional Police. “These projects will enhance our Community Safety and Well-Being strategy aimed at addressing the growing needs in our community including intimate partner violence supports and providing appropriate and alternative response to better serve priority populations.”

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