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The Badge The newspaper of the Toronto Police Service November/December 2013 Phone, online reporting takes pressure off frontlines S/Sgt. Susan Quaiattini in the PRIME unit where non-emergency calls and online reports to police are handled by specially trained constables rontline officers will getting given to Divisional investigators been used to report lost property , ness is broken into in the middle and occurrence information to the better backup as more and ● direct calls to most appropri- theft, theft from vehicle, damage of the night. Toronto Police Service over the Fmore non-emergency calls ate unit to property and damage to vehi- The Home Security and phone or via the web. It’ s antici- will be handled over the phone ● resolve cases cle (all under $5,000). It is antic- Business Registry will allow citi- pated this will occur in 20% of all and on the web. ipated that 2014 will see the zens to give keyholder and secu- shoplifting calls, as only those A new records management PRIME officers will reduce introduction of more than double rity company information in case who are non-violent, have no system, a specially trained unit the non-emergency radio calls the number of occurrences that a crime is committed. prior history of crime, can be tasked with answering non-emer- that need to be attended by can be reported online, which The General Property Registry identified and if there is no fur- gency calls, and an increase in Primary Response Unit of ficers. will all be processed by the will allow citizens to register any ther evidence to collect are eligi- web reporting will reduce the Members of the PRIME Unit will PRIME unit. newly purchased items with the ble. number of calls handled by be responsible for evaluating Sgts. Paul Jones and Jay Toronto Police Service. After a security of ficer makes Primary Response Unit (PRU) incoming calls for service to alle- McCall have been tasked with Currently, the Service only regis- a citizen’s arrest for trespassing officers. viate pressure from the frontline developing and implementing ters bicycles. or shoplifting, the call can be sub- The Primary Report Intake whenever possible. This will The Vulnerable Persons mitted online and followed up by Management and Entry (PRIME) allow the PRIME Unit to provide Registry will allow caregivers or a PRIME officer who can verify Unit was launched to take advan- relief to field units by initiating “This will guardians of at-risk citizens to if the person is wanted, on bail or tage of the functional improve- the investigation and collecting submit data to the police. This under investigation and have the ments of the Versadex Records occurrence data so officers on the improve our will include information such as ability to dispatch a vehicle if Management System. The new ground can focus on completing ability at the person’s description, photo- they feel there are complicating unit, a re-engineered version of tasks related to resolving the inci- graph, medical issues, safety con- circumstances to the call. the Central Alternate Response dent. proactively cerns and locations where they Otherwise, the person can be Unit, is responsible for the man- A/Supt. Scott Weidmark, who responding are likely to wander , whether released over the phone and secu- agement of all citizen-generated has been leading the Chief ’s to crime in they’re a developmentally rity personnel can serve trespass online and over -the-phone Internal Operational Review that delayed child or a senior suf fer- or civil loss-recovery documents reports. Currently, that unit han- created PRIME, said the unit will our ing from dementia. This will and charges may be laid at a later dles approximately 30% of all help take the pressure of calls for community” speed the police response by giv- time by way of summons. The calls for service, making it a cru- service off the road, freeing up ing officers information to release process was first used in British cial cog in the Service’ s machin- officers for active patrols. - A/Supt. Scott to the public and media right Columbia and has now been ery. And that number will become “It is expected that, as we Weidmark away, as well as immediate adopted by Peel, Hamilton and even larger over the course of the expand the use of this software, it places to look. Ottawa police services. next year as the unit takes on a will make reporting more con- “The faster we can start look- new and expanded role. venient and inform the communi- ing for a vulnerable missing per- Free up frontline officers ty better,” Weidmark said. “This son, the greater the probability Resolve cases over phone will improve our ability to for success,” said Sgt. Jim “The implementation of the respond to crime in our commu- enhancements to the online Lawson, a search master with Shoplifting Diversion program The PRIME Unit works out of nity.” reporting system and will be Public Safety & Emer gency will enhance the ability of front- Communications Services and, at CIOR was prompted to do the working alongside the PRIME Management. “Not only do we line officers to attend to more full strength, consists of 50 con- review by Const. Tim Gutter of unit to streamline processes and save time and resources, we can pressing emergency matters,” stables, ten sergeants and a staf f the Integrated Records procedures. save a life. Since Toronto has so said Det. Gord Scott, of 54 sergeant. Their mandate is to Information System. In 2014, citizens will be able many easy transportation sys- Division. “The ability of security resolve cases, where possible, “He saw the potential of this to register information with tems, like buses, subway , trains, partners to input data that will be and assign them to units when software to make frontline serv- police in the event a crime takes and taxis, missing persons can reviewed by a police of ficer in they require further investigation. ice delivery more ef ficient and place. travel great distances in a very the PRIME Unit will continue to free up our PRU to do more They will be able to share short period of time. The quicker allow us to prosecute of fenders PRIME officers will: proactive work,” said Weidmark, information with police, includ- we can start the search, and get properly, while reducing the noting several reviews began ing registering the serial numbers the information out, the better it workload of the frontline of fi- ● reduce time spent by officers with ideas from the field. of the high-end electronics is.” cer… the Shoplifting Diversion at a call by collecting data in The team will be expanding they’ve just purchased to being A Shoplifting Diversion program should save time, ef fort advance the use of CopLogic online able to give police information on process will allow accredited ● reduce the number of reports reporting software, which has who to call if their home or busi- security partners to submit arrest See PRIME on Page 2... 2 November/December 2013 Man in custody linked to Cabbagetown murder orensic evidence has linked a media, in helping them with Toronto man with homicides regards to the motive: why would Fin the city on October 23, the accused have been waiting for 2012 and last May. Ms. Semret in the rain and in the Adonay Zekarias, already in dark? custody, had his char ge of “It’s clear now that he was Indignity to a dead body upgraded familiar with her route home and to the First-Degree murder of 28- he was standing out of sight, out of year-old Rigat Essag Ghirmay. He her direction of travel home, and he has also been char ged with the attacked her from behind for an First-Degree murder of 55-year-old obviously very specific purpose,” Nighisti Semret. Giroux added. The 55-year-old woman was “It’s really a strong and positive brutally attacked in a Cabbagetown day for community safety in rela- laneway on her way home from tion to this individual’ s apprehen- work as a cleaner at the Delta sion, detention and continued Drugs had been woven into carpets in shipments acr oss international borders Chelsea Hotel. She was stabbed a detention,” said Giroux. number of times with a lar ge “He’s obviously a dangerous kitchen-style knife which had a individual, certainly to vulnerable Infinity nets $79M in drugs blade at least 20 centimetres long. women in the community.” oronto Police were an integral part of a with creative criminals. Semret succumbed to her Police are still seeking the pub- major three-year international drug ring “The thing we have done, from a policing injuries in hospital. lic’s help securing the rest of investigation responsible for the seizure perspective, is that we have had stronger con- Ghirmay’s remains. She came to T Motive unclear Canada from Eritrea and was a per- of nearly $79 million in illegal drugs, including nections with our intelligence-led component in almost $60 million in heroin. learning the processes that are out there and manent Canadian citizen. Project Infinity, a collaborative effort involv- working together on a regular basis so that we “Evidence will show that Ms. “I am hoping that, between May ing the Toronto Police Service (TPS) Drug can have an understanding of what the trends Semret and the offender knew each 17 and May 24, 2013, somebody Squad Major Project Section, the Ontario and patterns are and then formulate plans to other, but the difficulty we have is would have seen this gentleman Provincial Police Or ganized Crime locate these networks like we did in this case,” that the motive for the attack on her with what we believe is luggage Enforcement Bureau and the Canada Border he said.