Advocates and experts are renewing calls for a division-by-division review of the Toronto Police Service, after The Globe and Mail highlighted an outsized history of database breaches within one northwest detachment.<\/p>\n
In the eight years before the recent Project South takedown led to the arrests of several officers from 12 Division, unlawful database breaches prompted sanctions against four other constables from that same division, according to a review of disciplinary records by The Globe.<\/p>\n
These accounted for almost one-third of TPS data-breach disciplinary cases during that time, despite the division being one of 16 across the city. A fifth officer from 12 Division was convicted criminally after he was found to have repeatedly leaked confidential information to a member of the public with a criminal record.<\/p>\n
These numbers \u201cillustrate that there is a systemic problem,\u201d said Shakir Rahim, director of the criminal justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).<\/p>\n
\u201cI think your piece does speak to the real possibility that there are issues that are division specific, that have to be properly explored within the TPS.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto Police division at core of Project South probe has history of data breaches<\/a><\/p>\n Database breaches were at the core of the allegations laid out in Project South, which was announced by York Regional Police in February as one of the largest police corruption cases in Canadian history.<\/p>\n The probe was sparked by the alleged attempted killing of a corrections officer at his home. Investigators then worked backward, determining that a Toronto Police Service constable, Timothy Barnhardt, had allegedly used police databases to leak information that ultimately led to the alleged attempted hit.<\/p>\n Seven active TPS officers have been charged under Project South. Three of them \u2013 including Constable Barnhardt \u2013 worked in 12 Division, along with a recently retired officer, who is also facing charges. The allegations against them have not been tested in court.<\/p>\n In response to the Project South corruption case, the province\u2019s Inspector-General of Policing launched a sweeping Ontario-wide review of police services<\/a>. Estimated to take 18 months, the review will look at police-officer screening, supervision and substance abuse. It will also look at evidence management and how to safeguard law-enforcement databases.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Inspectorate, Rima Amri, said in an e-mail Tuesday that the review will evaluate the effectiveness of all police services and civilian oversight boards in both preventing and detecting corruption.<\/p>\n Court upholds bail denial for Toronto Police officer charged in Project South probe<\/a><\/p>\n But critics say this is far too broad a mandate, and risks glossing over any potential localized issues that may have given rise to the specific allegations of Project South. <\/p>\n John Sewell, co-ordinator of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said The Globe\u2019s analysis has highlighted the need to zoom in on each division.<\/p>\n \u201cI think your research has shown very clearly that there\u2019s been a whole bunch of data breaches that have happened\u201d in 12 Division, he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Sewell, who was mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980, has previously called on city council to order a public inquiry<\/a>, which it has the legal authority to do under the Municipal Act. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a Toronto problem. Toronto politicians should be saying, \u2018this is our problem,\u2019 \u201d he said.<\/p>\n Top civic and police leaders in Toronto said on Wednesday that they will continue to back the provincewide probe. <\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor expressed her support for the Inspector-General\u2019s review process,\u201d said Braman Thillainathan, a spokesperson for Olivia Chow, who added that \u201cthe mayor will continue to meet with the chief and the board chair to reinforce that rebuilding trust is non-negotiable.\u201d <\/p>\n