Police chief wants to address 'problem with gunplay' as Toronto exceeds homicide record

Toronto has a "problem with gunplay,"the city's police chief says,but the vast majorityof people are safe.

Mark Saunders's comments come as Torontomarked its 90thhomicide this year surpassing a grisly record that stood unbroken for nearly three decades.

On Sunday, abrazen daytime shootingin Scarborough brought to thetotal number of slayingsin Toronto this year to 90. The previous record for the most homicides in a single year was 89 setin 1991.

In an interview withCBCRadio'sMetro Morning, Saunders argued thatgang violence is at the centre of a spike in gun-related killings.

"Most of the shootings, by in large, are attributed to the street gang violence:people who have a high-risk lifestyle," he said, adding the brazenness of homicides sets this year apart from cases in 1991.

"Street-gang subculture is something that needs to be looked at."

Listen to police Chief Mark Saunders weigh-in on gun violence amid a record-setting number of homicides:

Shooting deathsaccount for half of homicides

Last week, ActingInsp. HankIdsingaof the force's homicide unit said there has been an"uptick in the number of shootings" relative to other types of slayings this year.

While officers have seized more guns off the streets than ever beforeclose to 900 firearmsthe "shootings keep happening,"Idsingaexplained.

Police statistics show a rise in shooting deaths in 2018, accounting for more than half of all slayingsso far this year.

Last year, that number was 36, compared to 34 in the year before.

Saunders admitted it has been an "unusual" year for Toronto, attributing two mass casualty events that grabbed worldwide attention to incomprehensible violence.

Ten people were killed and 16others injured when a van plowed into pedestrians along Yonge Street on April 23. Three months later,amass shooting rampage along a bustling Danforth Avenue left two dead and wounded 13 others.

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Meanwhile, other shootings in Toronto's public places the entertainment district, popular downtown areas, andperhaps most shockingly, a Scarboroughplayground where two young sisterswere wounded raised particular community ire andmade gun violence and its root causes ahot-button political issue.

Not 'new normal,' mayor vows

Mayor John Toryhas endorsed a complete ban on handguns within city limits, whileboth the province and Ottawa have contributed new funding for youth programming aimed at providing opportunities tovulnerable young people.

"What I'd like to hope is that it's going to be a collaborative effort between all the governments," he told reporters at city hall Monday.

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Tory added that he won't accept this year's homicide total as the "new normal going forward" and that city hall is committed to reducingviolent crime.

"What we have to do is double and triple and quadruple our resolve to try and address it as best we can," he said.

Tory's plan includes investing in youth services, increasing neighbourhood resources, ensuring police's $1 billion budget remains intact, and changing laws around handguns.

Saunders echoed this sentiment in the interview, sayingit will take a joint effort from the city, province and Ottawato tackle the root causes of gun violence.

"I think, for the first time in a longtime, all levels of government understand the solution to this is not arresting your way through it," he toldMetro Morning.

"In order for us to look at what we need to do to fix that problem, it's going to have to be a collective effort if we're going to be successful."

Gang dynamics are complex

Saunders said,however, gang dynamics are complex and there's no simple way topinpoint the cause ofthe violence.

Some shootings, he said, are theresult of gang-on-gang warfare, or someone acting ona personal grudge. And then there are deaths of innocent bystanders that get caught in the crossfire.

A wave of violence in north EtobicokepromptedSupt. Ron Taverner of 23 Division to pleadfor help from the public earlier this month in solving what he characterized as "vicious, horrific" crimes.

Taverner estimated of Toronto's 363 shootings this year, almost 40 per cent occurin north Etobicoke. He said thearea has a history ofgang activity, turf wars and retaliation, and guns and drugs.

'Street gang overtones' linked to homicides, Saunders says

In 1991, police told CBCTorontothat gangs, guns, drugs and the recession were to blame for the record-setting number of homicides.

"Street gang overtones, once again, led up to the exact situation that we're in today," Saunders said on Monday.

He called forprograms aimed at high risk youth as a way tocombat the underlying causes of gun violence in the city.

"You have to look at preventing young men from making the decisions that they're making," he said, noting many people who come from communities with a lot of violence feel they need a gun forprotection.

A city report released in Julyfound that youthwho get involved withviolence and crime often facepoverty, trauma, racism, a lack of positive peers and family supports, and come from underservedneighbourhoods.

The report recommendedincreasing young people's access to health, housing, family education, employment, mentorship, positive peers and community-based activities as a way to address the root causes of crime.

In July, Tory committed $12-million in fundingfor existing city programs that are focused on keeping youth out of criminal lifestyles. In the end, city staff advised applying for more than $30 million in crime prevention funding from the federal government.

Further, Saunders saidthe force also needs to "[change] the playbook" on policing by redefining frontline officers' roles in the community.

Torontopolice has had a neighbourhood policing program since 2013, and currently has nearly100 officers placed in 33 neighbourhoods to build greater trust in areas where gun violence is taking place.

This fall, theservice increasedpolice presence in eight city neighbourhoods, with the goal of identifying at-risk youth and offering a myriad of supports, such as resources within the school and justice system.

"This is the year where things are going to turn around in solving [gun violence] holistically," Saunders said.

With files CBC Radio's Metro Morning