Pledge for Safe and Supported Communities
Josh Matlow
Safe and Supported Communities - Ward 12
Toronto Police Service (TPS) requested — and received — a $46.2 million budget increase for 2025, and spent a total of $1.286 billion. The Toronto Police are the second largest expense in the city's budget.
Despite this massive investment, police cannot guarantee safety. They are the only service provider with the right to bully, brutalize, arrest, and even kill Torontonians in the name of safety. Further, police are not well-positioned to address root causes of harm in our communities. It is crucial that the city redirects funds to housing, to mental health supports, to harm reduction services, to youth outreach, and other services that will support people in crisis, not criminalize them. It has been shown time and again this is how we create safety.
Our elected officials need to hold the police accountable for their spending. In Ward 12, we are asking our representative Josh Matlow to pledge the following:
Invest in third spaces: safe and welcoming community hubs where youth, seniors, and neighbours can gather, find shelter from the elements, access programming and care.
Why it matters: Every dollar spent on prevention saves far more in emergency response costs. Funding third spaces keeps people safe without criminalization.
Fully implement and prioritize community-led crisis support phonelines and response services for mental health crises.
Why it matters: Salary and equipment costs for uniformed officers are roughly double those of civilian crisis responders. People experiencing mental health issues have a right to call an emergency line that will never lead to a call to the police.
Eliminate the Toronto Police mounted unit: an outdated, expensive, and harmful program.
Why it matters: Mounted police are most often deployed at demonstrations, where they have escalated tensions and caused significant injuries. Most major urban police services have long abandoned this practice.
Eliminating the mounted unit would save $6.4 million annually.
Reduce Toronto Police overtime spending.
In 2024, Toronto Police spent $19.5 million policing demonstrations and another $103 million on “premium pay” for overtime.
A 2025 U.S. analysis found that shifting from force-led to communication-focused tactics reduced conflict and promoted self-regulation within crowds. Militarized policing does not make us safe; community dialogue, de-escalation, and trust-building do.
Allocating part of this funding to crowd marshals and community mediators would improve safety at a lower cost, leaving surplus funds.
Endorsed by:
Black Action Defense Committee
M.A.D.A.N.T. (Mutual Aid Direct Action North Toronto)
Sponsored by
To:
Josh Matlow
From:
[Your Name]
Safe and Supported Communities - Ward 12
Toronto Police Service (TPS) requested — and received — a $46.2 million budget increase for 2025, and spent a total of $1.286 billion. The Toronto Police are the second largest expense in the city's budget.
Despite this massive investment, police cannot guarantee safety. They are the only service provider with the right to bully, brutalize, arrest, and even kill Torontonians in the name of safety. Further, police are not well-positioned to address root causes of harm in our communities. It is crucial that the city redirects funds to housing, to mental health supports, to harm reduction services, to youth outreach, and other services that will support people in crisis, not criminalize them. It has been shown time and again this is how we create safety.
Our elected officials need to hold the police accountable for their spending. In Ward 12, we are asking our representative Josh Matlow to pledge the following:
- Invest in third spaces: safe and welcoming community hubs where youth, seniors, and neighbours can gather, find shelter from the elements, access programming and care.
- Why it matters: Every dollar spent on prevention saves far more in emergency response costs. Funding third spaces keeps people safe without criminalization.
- Fully implement and prioritize community-led crisis support phonelines and response services for mental health crises.
- Why it matters: Salary and equipment costs for uniformed officers are roughly double those of civilian crisis responders. People experiencing mental health issues have a right to call an emergency line that will never lead to a call to the police.
- Eliminate the Toronto Police mounted unit: an outdated, expensive, and harmful program.
- Why it matters: Mounted police are most often deployed at demonstrations, where they have escalated tensions and caused significant injuries. Most major urban police services have long abandoned this practice.
- Eliminating the mounted unit would save $6.4 million annually.
- Reduce Toronto Police overtime spending.
- In 2024, Toronto Police spent $19.5 million policing demonstrations and another $103 million on “premium pay” for overtime.
- A 2025 U.S. analysis found that shifting from force-led to communication-focused tactics reduced conflict and promoted self-regulation within crowds. Militarized policing does not make us safe; community dialogue, de-escalation, and trust-building do.
- Allocating part of this funding to crowd marshals and community mediators would improve safety at a lower cost, leaving surplus funds.