Good morning, and thank you, Chair and committee members, for the opportunity to address you here today.
I'll spend a few minutes speaking about the proliferation of illegal firearms and, in particular, illegal handguns and the violence perpetrated in Toronto using these firearms. I'll also touch on recent trends and highlight a number of recently implemented strategies to enhance our prevention, intervention and enforcement efforts.
Shootings and homicides continue to be a concern in Toronto. Just last year, we saw a 20% increase in the number of homicides, and of the 85 murders committed in 2021, 46 were shooting homicides. The traumatic impact of gun violence on communities is unacceptable and the number of firearms-related incidents far too high, and we are seeing emerging trends that are of concern.
There were 408 shootings in our city last year, resulting in 209 victims. In 2021, 86% of crime handguns that could be sourced were from the United States. The percentage of criminal handguns that are sourced in the United States has continued to rise since 2019.
There is increasing concern over the involvement of younger persons in shootings and the risk that our youth face from gun violence in Toronto. In 2021, the average age of persons involved in shootings, either as an accused or suspect, or as a person of interest, dropped from 25 years of age to 20 years of age. The number of shell casings seized at shootings has risen significantly in 2021. We have seized 2,405 shell casings at crime scenes, representing a 48% increase over the previous year.
The Toronto Police Service has undertaken a number of initiatives to respond in a more effective and holistic way to gun and gang activity. Our approach is rooted in our legal obligation to deliver community-centred policing, conduct investigations and enforcement and, importantly, prevent offences and assist victims.
We understand the social costs and unintended consequences that enforcement tactics can have on residents, families and communities. As a result, the Toronto police have focused on strategic enforcement, which is squarely aimed at the most impactful and violent offenders.
Community members and organizations have repeatedly called for greater coordination between police, community supports, city resources and all levels of government. Additionally, it has been recognized that getting upstream of the need for enforcement must be a continued priority of any sustainable policing model.
The Toronto Police Service has partnered with key city representatives and developed an executive leadership table to facilitate greater public safety collaboration. Additionally, we've introduced a strategic framework in regard to gun and gang activity to provide a coordinated, multisectoral approach in partnership with our communities and guided by the City of Toronto community safety and well-being plan, known as “SafeTO”.
Introduced in 2021, SafeTO is a city-led collaborative plan that includes the development of a comprehensive multi-sector gun violence reduction plan, which is to address the complex challenges posed by gun and gang activity. The goal is to shift from reliance on a reactive and siloed response towards a model of integrated prevention and intervention that tackles upstream root causes.
The Toronto Police Service has committed to additional prevention and intervention initiatives with the creation of our integrated gang prevention task force, designed to offer those wishing to escape the gang lifestyle the proper resources, guidance and mentorship to do so.
In conclusion, gun violence and gang activity continue to be the most significant public safety concern of people in Toronto. This criminal behaviour has a direct impact on victims, their families and our neighbourhoods as a whole.
Community safety is a shared responsibility that requires coordination and collaboration between all levels of government, the police, communities and social services to address the complex root causes that lead individuals to use a criminal firearm in the first place. There's a need to not only stop the proliferation of illegal guns from the United States, but also address underlying causes of violence resulting in trauma in our neighbourhoods.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.