RAMER: Toronto’s top cop calls for tougher bail and sentences to fight gun crime

On Monday, Toronto Police Service held a news conference to announce details of a massive gun seizure.

In his opening remarks, transcribed below, Chief James Ramer made a call for stricter bail and sentencing conditions along with increased border surveillance as the real key to stopping gun crime in our city.

I’m here with Superintendent Steve Watts of organized crime enforcement to share the results of Project Barbell. A firearm trafficking investigation that has resulted in multiple arrests. And as you can see, the seizure of dozens of illegal firearms.

In front of you today are 62 firearms, including five AR-15 semi-automatic rifles. 260 charges have been laid against six individuals, one of whom has now been identified as a suspect in a reckless shooting that occurred in a crowded bar in October of 2021.

While we are here to show the public the results of a successful investigation, this is not a good news story.

While it represents outstanding police work, we should all be disturbed by a gun seizure of this magnitude. Gun violence continues to be the most significant public safety concern for the people of Toronto.

Why? Because our youth are dying over this issue.

Shootings devastate families and erode the sense of security for entire communities. And every one of these guns was destined for our streets and our communities. Statscan recently reported that the national homicide rate increased by a third straight year. Noteworthy is that nearly a quarter of the killings in 2021 are linked to gangs and organized crime.

Community safety is a shared responsibility, and the root causes of gun and gang violence are complex and extend far beyond the scope of policing. We remain fully committed to working with our partner agencies at all levels of government on prevention and addressing root causes for those who are at risk.

But let me be clear, we are equally committed to targeting those who are high-risk, those who choose to carry and to use illegal guns in our neighborhoods, in addition to our commitments to prevention and enforcement.

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We’ve also advocated through our board for bail reform and other legislative changes. To better tackle gun violence in our city. These include ensuring that bail hearings for the most serious firearm offenses are heard by a judge of the Ontario Court or Superior Court to hold the most high-risk offenders more accountable for their dangerous actions.

Amending the Criminal Code so that someone who intentionally uses a gun in a public setting surrounded by innocent people, like a park, or a nightclub is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law including a charge of first-degree murder if someone is killed in the circumstances. In other words, firing a handgun in a congregate setting.

Or at least alternatively, consider increasing bail opportunities to somehow mirror first degree murder.

And finally, a commitment to ongoing funding at our border crossings. We’ve indeed received millions of dollars in federal funding that’s allowing CBSA to have more boots on the ground and to help all levels of firearm investigation. A lot of firearms investigations continue to deal with smuggling and trafficking, which is the essence of where all these firearms have come from.

But there’s more investment that needs to be made.

So again, I want to thank our officers, particularly those in our Integrated Gang and Gun Task Force for their hard work and dedication to community safety. As you can see by what’s on display here, this is a tremendous achievement.