Toronto saw a rash of brazen crime that shocked and unnerved residents last year. Is the city still safe?

Walied Khogali Ali is a community leader in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood. (Joanna Lavoie/CP24)

Community leader Walied Khogali Ali was devastated when gunfire broke out in his Regent Park neighbourhood earlier this year, killing a father and his adult son.

Just weeks earlier, people had gathered to celebrate almost two years of the downtown east community being without a gun-related death.

This achievement, he said, was due to years of hard work, along with investments made in the Regent Park Social Development Plan, notably $2.5 million from the City of Toronto. Those funds, however, had ended in May 2023 and were only renewed recently, Ali added.

That daylight incident, along with a recent carjacking on Dundas Street East, has shaken many in the community, putting into question the sense of safety that some residents say that they had begun to develop.

“If you want to address the issue, you’ve got to talk about the big elephant in the room, which is chronic underfunding of the community,” Ali told CP24.com.

Brazen crime far too common in 2024

Meanwhile, over in the city’s west end residents were equally rattled when two groups of people started firing at each other on the evening of Nov. 11. Fortunately, no one was injured but more than 100 gunshots were fired during the course of the incident, with some of the bullets striking an unmarked police vehicle with plain clothes officers inside.

According to Toronto police data, major crime, including assault, auto theft, break and enter, robbery, sexual violence, and theft over $5,000, are down year-over-year by just over three per cent.

Shootings and gun discharges, however, are up by almost 36 per cent compared to 2023 with more than 470 incidents.

Homicides, almost 60 per cent of which are gun-related, also hit a five-year high in 2024 with 84 as of Dec. 22. In 2023, a total of 73 people were murdered in Toronto.

In a statement provided to CP24.com, Toronto police said gun violence, which has been especially prevalent among youth in 2024, has “definitely been a challenge and addressing it continues to be a top priority” for the service.

Toronto Police Service spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in 2024 officers made approximately 940 firearm arrests, an increase of 14 per cent from the year prior, and seized roughly 700 guns.

To address gun crime, “multi-sectoral collaboration with community and SafeTO partners to tackle what is a significant community safety and wellbeing concern,” is needed, she said.

“Chief (Myron) Demkiw has also reiterated our call for law reform concerning indiscriminate and brazen shootings in public settings. Many police leaders have also spoken about the urgent need for justice reform, to tackle repeat offenders and return a sense of safety to our communities,” Sayers said.

When it comes to auto thefts and carjackings, she said that TPS has set up a dedicated investigative team, which has helped reduce these kinds of incidents by almost a quarter in 2024, adding that this effort is aided by a new technology introduced earlier this year called the Automated Licence Plate Recognition system.

This technology, Sayer said, automatically scans the licence plates of vehicles passing police cars, allowing them to receive real-time alerts. Almost 600 of the force’s police vehicles have this system in place, which translates to well over 1.1 million plates scanned every 24 hours. As of Dec. 17, TPS had more than 100,000 plates for stolen vehicles from across Canada in its system, Sayer said.

“That said, auto thefts cannot be remedied in isolation,” she said.

“TPS is working closely with our law enforcement partners to disrupt these crimes and has recovered thousands of vehicles, but ultimately this issue requires collective action from all sectors – all levels of government and private industries, including insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, port authorities and shipping companies – working together towards a common goal of fighting organized crime and keeping our communities safe.”

Sayer added that so far this year, police in Toronto have responded to almost 50 jewelry store robberies, compared to just 25 during the same period last year.

Many of these have been brazen smash-and-grab style robberies that have unnerved retailers and led to countless shocking videos showing the crime in progress.

“This surge highlights the need for collaborative efforts to address the root causes of these crimes and enhance preventative measures,” Sayer said.

“Together, we aim to raise awareness, share actionable safety recommendations, and reduce the risk of robbery and victimization for business owners and employees alike.”

City taking holistic approach to crime prevention

The City of Toronto is taking a more holistic approach in its efforts to ensure the city is a safe place for all.

Through its 10-year SafeTO Community and Safety Well-Being Plan, the city is aiming to “look at aspects to stop the escalation of violence at its source,” said Coun. Alejandra Bravo, who chairs the Economic and Community Development Committee, which SafeTO reports to.

She said one of the key areas of focus is youth-involved gun violence and how everyone’s sense of safety is impacted by poverty, homelessness, and the toxic drug and mental health crises.

The Toronto Community Crisis Service, the city’s fourth emergency service, which was rolled out city-wide in 2024, also falls under the SafeTO plan.

“We need to consider all aspects and where the pinpoints really area, and make sure everybody is part of the solution,” Bravo said.

“SafeTO is focused on identifying where the greatest needs are.”

Solutions to those challenges are centered on an inclusive framework, especially when it comes to creating opportunities for young people, she added.

Mohamed Shuriye, the city’s director of community safety and well-being, said SafeTO aims to “redefine community safety through a multifaceted, trauma-informed strategy,” which entails “working collaboratively across sectors, communities and governments to address the root causes of violence, including poverty, precarious housing, unemployment, poor health outcomes, and lack of educational opportunities.”

He added that taking action to interrupt, intervene in, prevent, and support families impacted gun violence is a priority.

“Any incident of violence can impact not only the victim and their families but also the community. We are concerned for the wellbeing of people and communities,” he said, adding that the city supports more than 50 ongoing initiatives to address risk factors that contribute to gun violence.

“No one must go through the impact of gun violence alone.”

Chris Lewis, a former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Public Safety Specialist with CTV News, said compared to other North American cities Toronto overall is one of the safest.

It was also ranked the safest city in all of Canada to live in 2023, according to a study by Preszler Injury Lawyers, he noted.

The research investigated the Canadian cities least likely to be affected by arson, robbery, impaired driving, and burglary. Using Canadian Crime Index data, the number of offenses for each crime was calculated per 100,000 of the population. These factors were then combined and ranked to generate a Top 10 list of Canada’s safest areas. Toronto topped that list at 286.9 crime offenses per 100,000 residents.

“When you look at violent crime stats, and they’re kept right across North America, so when you compare Toronto against some other major cities in the U.S., like Chicago, per 100,000 people, just to use homicides as an example, Toronto has three per 100,000 people last year, Chicago had 29. New Orleans had had significantly more than that,” Lewis said.

“And so, when you look at Baltimore and other Atlanta and other cities, Toronto is by far safer, even though even one murder is too many, it really is a safe city, comparatively.”

Lewis went on to say that while there is an uptick in brazen crimes, notably carjackings and smash-and-grab robberies as well as gun violence, overall Toronto is doing OK.

He said in most cases organized crime is to blame for the majority of violent crimes seen in the city, but added that socio-economic challenges, notably addiction, poverty, and mental heath issues, also play a role in incidents like break and enters and theft from vehicles.

Lewis said typically people equate public safety with violent crime, but said it also reflects once’s sense of wellbeing in their community, the feeling that they can walk around and feel they won’t be harmed.

He also added that more than ever before there is an increased awareness among the public regarding violent incidents due to the advent of social media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that violent crime rates are higher overall.

“Those are issues that are bigger than police, but police have to work with all those other agencies together to try and bring those numbers down” and “for the betterment of public safety,” he said.

Ahmed Ilmi, an assistant professor of Global Development Studies at the University of Toronto, said thousands of people from around the world choose to live in Toronto every year because it is known globally as a safe city, however it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that there are some significant challenges.

“A world-class city comes with world-class issues,” he said, adding many of the brazen, violent crimes the city and region is experiencing seeing as of late are derived from wealth disparity.

Ilmi, whose research is centered in the sociology of race, gender, ethnicity and youth, said it’s essential to always look inward and find new ways to activate and engage young people so that they become “socially responsible, moral human beings in our society.”

Social media definitely plays a factor in youth-involved crime, he said, as it has created a generation or “instant wants, needs and consumptions,” which coupled with societal inequities, notably poverty, is leading and perhaps forcing many to make decisions that will negatively impact their future.

“If you want a car, go grab it. If you want money, go get it. … Social media offers instant gratification and there isn’t a thought about consequences,” Ilmi said.

“We need to steer youth in a different way. … The kids committing these crimes should be in school.”

He added that as a society we are responsible for our children and need to invest time and money in them.

Ilmi also said the steady flow of videos showing brazen, violent crime that are being splashed all over social media as of late are also affecting the community’s sense of safety.

Over in Regent Park, Ali said residents have faced a lot of challenges over the years but are feeling empowered and have a growing sense of local pride, which is leading to a greater sense of safety.

“When a resident here is impacted by violent crime, instead of just waiting on, you know, staff from the city or from Victim Services, we have a local approach to supporting each other,” he shared during a recent interview with CP24.com.

“It’s also about fostering trust, equity, and access to essential services like mental health support.”

Ali said the solution to addressing crime across the city lies in developing a “sense of community ownership, a sense of appreciating that we’re neighbors, a sense of taking care for each other, watching out for each other.”

He added that the goal of the Regent Park Social Development Plan is social cohesion and inclusion, which he said can only be achieved through events and initiatives that bring residents from all walks of life together.

“That’s how they recognize their neighbours. That’s how they’re able to support each other. And most importantly, identify those in crisis who need those wraparound supports, who need, you know, that extra attention, that extra love,” Ali said.

“Whether it’s our youth, you know, making sure that if they’re looking for good jobs or they’re looking for economic opportunities. if they’re looking for mentorship, they get it right away. It’s not being reactionary, it’s being proactive, and that’s our approach.”

He added that addressing the core reasons for crime – poverty and the lack of community – is the best approach to ensure Toronto remains a safe place.

“When you invest in communities, we actually have better outcomes, a much safer city for everyone, and all of us benefit,” he said.

“When you make investments in communities, the outcomes are good for everyone involved. You don’t need you don’t need to address crime, you don’t need to address trauma, because there’ll be less of both.”