Terms of Reference

Task Force on Community Safety

  1.Name:Task Force on Community Safety

 2.Duration

 The Task Force is intended to be of limited duration. It will report to Toronto City Council no later than May 1999 with a final report. The report=s recommendations will include mechanisms for ongoing monitoring of the progress of these recommendations, including accountability to citizens through a continuing committee or other mechanism.

 3.Mandate

 The Mandate of the Task Force is to develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan for the City of Toronto that would make our City a world leader in community based crime prevention. This plan of action will build on:

 Cconsultation with the citizens of Toronto;

Cbest practices in Toronto and other cities;

Cpartnerships between the City of Toronto, other levels of government, the private sector, community organizations, and citizens; and

Ca Aroot cause approach@ which deals most effectively with the origins rather than the symptoms of the problems being addressed.

  4.Membership

 The Task Force will be composed of no more than 25 members, drawn from City Councillors and representatives of stakeholder groups, including:

 CVictims of Crime

CPolice

CEducation Sector (possibly one from the elementary/secondary sector, and another from the tertiary sector)

CNeighbourhood Crime Prevention Groups

CLocal Business Organizations

CAgencies working to prevent family violence

CEthnospecific/Multicultural Agencies

COrganizations working with Aat risk@ children and youth

CMedia

CYouth Organizations

   5.Chairpersons

 The Task Force will be Co-Chaired by Councillor Rob Davis and Councillor Brad Duguid as appointed by Council.

 6.Staffing

 An interdepartmental staff team has been developed, drawn from the Healthy City Office (lead), the Social Development and Public Health Sections of Community and Neighbourhood Services, Urban Planning and Development, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, and Toronto Police Services. Staff has been selected in consultation between the Co-Chairs and the Chief Administrative Officer, on the basis of :

 CAbility to gather, synthesize and analyse background information;

CAbility to write background papers, and assist in the writing of the draft and final reports;

CAbility to facilitate a community consultation process; and

CKnowledge of the issue.

 Other staff will resource the Task Force as necessary (see item 11).

 7.Budget

 The Task Force will need sufficient resources to cover:

 CMeeting costs (mailing, etc.);

CCommunity consultation and other communications costs; and

CPreparation of public documents, including the Final Report

 A budget has been prepared, totalling $35,000 (see Appendix 1). Twenty thousand dollars of this budget will go towards a Citizen=s Summary of the Final Report, outlining resources for community safety and recommendations of the Task Force, to be mailed to all interested citizens. Other sources of funding, including from senior levels of government, are being pursued.

  8.Membership Selection

 Members will be selected by the Co-Chairs, based on names submitted by all City Councillors, and in consultation with staff and community members knowledgeable in the issue.

 The selection process will be based on criteria, clearly understood and equitable.

 Members should be selected on the basis of the following attributes:

CA strategic thinker, able to work in a task force setting, with time and energy;

CA leader in a critical sector, including the ability to represent, communicate with and influence this sector;

Ca person with a history of public service such as volunteer work, and proven ability to consult within and across their sector;

CAn Aexpert@ in their field, with excellent knowledge and experience; and

CThe membership should be as diverse as possible, in terms of geographic representation across the City, and demographic diversity (race/ethnicity, gender, age, etc).

 Barriers to access by potential Task Force members should be addressed, such as:

 CChildcare costs for single parents; and

CAll meetings should be accessible to wheelchairs and to people with different abilities

 9.First Meeting/Orientation

 At its First Meeting, the Task Force will:

 CReview the Terms of Reference, and confirm the Mandate, Chair, and Membership.

CSet a Schedule of meeting dates, including location.

COrient members as to role of Task Force, City structure and process, Human Rights issues, etc.

 10.Task Force Process

 At all levels of this process stakeholders (community and staff) input is desirable to ensure a commitment to the outcomes and therefore, implementation of recommendations.

 a)Problem Identification:

 CSpecify major issues to be dealt with, in consultation with the community

 b)Information Gathering:

 Cliterature review, including recommendations from former municipalities= relevant reports

Cinventory of existing and potential resources: in corporation and in community

Cbest practices from former municipalities in new Toronto and elsewhere

Cresearch: relevant demographic and other statistics

 c)Vision:

Cdevelop what kind of short term and longer term end results would be ideal: in relation to this issue, (e.g. what would a Ahealthy liveable city@ look like?)

Cidentify Aoutcome@ indicators which would show that these results are being achieved

 d)Analysis:

 Cbegin to determine what policies and practices should exist, including gap analysis (what is missing) and potential duplication of services

Cbegin to determine recommendations. All recommendations should include resource implications (human, organizational, financial); Aperformance indicatorsA(how will you know in one year or three years whether this recommendation is being implemented successfully?); and opportunities for community partnerships, including funding partnerships

 e)Draft Report:

 Cassign recommendations within Corporation, community, partnerships

Cassign who is going to monitor on an ongoing progress

Cdistribute to community and to staff group for comments

Cintegrate comments in final report

 f)Present Final Report to Council (no later than May 1999)

 11.Community consultation

 Task Forces can be an excellent tool to enable government to have in-depth collaboration with citizens on major issues. Citizen participation can:

 Cmaximize the effectiveness of government interventions in issues of public concern;

Cbuild partnerships that will efficiently use limited monetary and human resources in government and communities;

Censure Abuy-in@ by relevant corporate and community stakeholders;

Cincrease access to good ideas and proven solutions; and

Cleverage resources through volunteer hours and coalition development

 A community consultation plan is necessary because:

 CThe issues addressed by the Task Force are essential to the well being of citizens;

CIndividuals and groups have the opportunity to participate in the solutions to the problems addressed by the Task Force; and

CGood governance engages citizens in meaningful, proactive participation on issues that affect their lives.

At a minimum, individuals and community organizations should be consulted at these points in the process:

 a)Problem Identification

b)Information Gathering: identifying Community Resources/Capacities, and Best Practices;

c)Vision

d)Reviewing the Draft Report

 Community consultation processes can include:

 Copen and advertised meetings of the Task Force;

Cother public meetings, on particular topics and/or in various locations around the City (preferably in the evening to accommodate members of the public);

Cfocus groups or subcommittees on particular topics;

Csurveys (faxed or e-mailed) to stakeholder organizations;

Cadvertised opportunities for public input, including surveys;

Cdeputations on the draft report; and

C many other mechanisms.

 The final report should include a communications strategy and a Acitizens= document:@ a summary of the report in non-bureaucratic language.

 12.Staff consultation

 Because of the importance and cross-corporate nature of the issues addressed by each Task Force, there is the need for ongoing consultation with senior staff from relevant City Departments, Boards, Agencies, and Commissions:

 CUrban Planning and Development: Planning and Development, Licensing, Toronto Parking Authority

CCommunity and Neighbourhood Services: Social Development, Housing, Children=s Services, Social Services, Hostel Services, Hostels, Homes for the Aged; Public Health;

CEconomic Development, Culture and Tourism: Economic Development, Parks, Recreation

CWorks and Emergency Services: Fire; Metro Police Services

CCorporate Services: Human Resources

 Consultation with staff should include:

 a)Information Gathering: identifying Corporate Resources/Capacities, and Best Practices

b)Analysis: especially developing recommendations

c)Reviewing the Draft Report

Senior staff should attend Task Force meetings as necessary or on the call of the Chair.

 13.Opportunities for Youth

 Because one of the priorities for the City of Toronto is to develop training and job opportunities for young people, Task Forces can offer high school and university students Ainternships@, supported by academic programs, to enable them to gain meaningful work experience.

  Appendix 1. Budget

Task Force on Community Safety

  Public Meetings (see work plan)

Refreshments for CST and staff ($50 for 7 meetings of each) 700

Refreshments for day long workshop ($10 X 300 people) 3,000

Printing and Mailing costs related to public outreach800

  Report

2,000 copies of a 60 pp. Report in 2 colours 10,000

50,000 copies of a 4 pp. Citizens summary in 4 colours 20,000

  Publications 500

some publications from other jurisdictions will need to be ordered

  TOTAL: 35,000

 NOTE: we will be pursuing other sources of funding (federal and provincial) to carry out the following projects:

 Poll 40,000

a Toronto poll to set up baseline indicators of fear of crime, crime

and community safety needs

 Conference 40,000

a Toronto conference to share community best practice examples

and launch the community safety strategy