Community Safety is one of the top concerns for residents and I wanted to update residents on our advocacy to prevent auto-theft, increasing the Peel Police Budget and resuming the Community Safety Advisory Committee.
Auto-Theft Prevention / Auto-Theft Summit
Auto-theft is out of control and thieves appear to be getting more brazen knowing that Peel Region does not have the policing resources to investigate every stolen vehicle report. It is also too easy for the signal from key fobs to be stolen and circumvent the vehicle’s theft deterrent systems. Last winter, Councillor Vicente, Mayor Brown and I met with Toyota Canada to plead with them to implement technology in new vehicles to prevent theft. This year, we have asked our government relations team to advocate to the entire auto sector in preparation for an auto-theft summit being organized in March by Peel Police.
While this advocacy will not address the immediate situation, Peel Police provides useful tips on how to minimize the opportunity for you to be a victim, including storing you keys away from your front-door in a signal blocking case. Watch more.
Peel Police Budget
Peel Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah delegated to Peel Regional Council requesting funding for 70 additional officers and additional civilian staff for 911 operations. The budget is still being reviewed and I will be supporting the Chief’s request. Additionally, I fully support increasing the Police budget in upcoming years as our region is significantly underserved.
Community Safety Advisory Committee
Thanks to the advocacy of Councillor Michael Palleschi in Wards 2 & 6, we are resuming the Community Safety Advisory Committee with a focus on the city’s new Community Safety Advisory Plan. We recently passed a motion for the follow initial members (see terms of reference for citizen representation):
- Chair Councillor Michael Palleschi
(Wards 2 & 6) - Vice-Chair Councillor Dennis Keenan
(Wards 3 & 4) - Councillor Rowena Santos (Wards 1 & 5)
- Councillor Rod Power (Wards 7 & 8)
- Councillor Gurpartap Toor (Wards 9 & 10)
