Presenting a united front in response to recent gun violence, Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory announced a $3-million plan to place 200 more officers throughout the city at pivotal times when shootings are most likely to occur.

Starting next Friday and running for eight weeks, additional officers will be deployed throughout the city between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. — a presence Saunders stresses will be “intelligence-led” and not result in police flooding entire neighbourhoods.

“Our focus during this time frame will be intelligence-led, with the intention of not saturating the neighbourhoods, but to have our police officers focused on those very few who are motivated to have access, and to use, guns across the city,” Saunders told a news conference at police headquarters Thursday.

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Another $12 million, Tory said, is being proposed to fund existing community programs serving at-risk youth.

Saunders and Tory have each been the subject of attack by the Toronto Police Association and some factions of uniformed officers, who claim the current push to modernize the police service is to blame for a recent increase in violence.

Saunders acknowledged the spike in gunplay has “definitely caused some concern toward citizens in Toronto” but said he was confident the plan announced Thursday — a co-ordinated effort with city hall and other city divisions — will work.

The increased police presence, he said, will be enabled by overtime and temporary expanded shifts during certain times. It’s part of a larger effort to redeploy officers in a more strategic and targeted way: sending them to fewer non-emergency calls, such as noise complaints, to free them up for calls where police are truly needed.

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The eight-week program will start with more officers spread out throughout the city. But the program will be “flexible and nimble” and, if needed, can be modified to focus on specific areas, Saunders said.

Police union president Mike McCormack said the announcement is a much sought-after acknowledgement that more officers are needed on the front line, but the “devil will be in the details.”

In an interview, McCormack said it’s not clear exactly how many more officers will be deployed, given that officers are already burned out from going “from call to call to call.”

He also called the plan a “temporary solution,” saying it’s not apparent what will happen at the end of the eight weeks, when additional resources may still be necessary.

In a message sent to Toronto Police Association members, the union says Saunders will release specific information Friday about changes to officers’ schedules.

Asked about burnout at the news conference, Saunders said the service will “be watching our officers to make sure they are going to be OK.”

Tory announced he will push to see “significant and immediate new investments in programs which already work” after he requested an audit of existing community programs. Those with a proven track record will receive new funding, he said, including youth employment programs, and those targeted at youth living in neighbourhood improvement areas and Toronto Community Housing.

The mayor will seek that funding as well as the spending for the increased uniform presence at a council meeting later this month.

It’s unclear where the funding to begin the redeployment next week will come from. Saunders said that plan would be achieved using overtime. A news release from the mayor’s office said it would cost “up to $3 million.”

City staff, the release says, are applying for federal funding for community programs. New investments from both the city and federal government, Tory’s office said, “will total up to $12 million.” It’s not clear how much council will be asked to approve in increased city spending.

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“We all want to keep our city safe. We all want to support our police service. We all want to support our communities,” Tory said. “I want to pay particular credit to the chief, and to the men and women who serve with him. I believe that today’s initiative, along with significant additional details to be announced next week, will give them and the people of Toronto the substantial additional help that they’re seeking. The safety of this city is a collective effort.”

Tory’s comments come after he and McCormack traded barbs this week over the uptick in shootings, which has alarmed some residents and sent officials looking for a rapid response.

But experts have warned there is no quick-fix solution for the underlying causes of crime, nor is it possible to determine a trend in crime data, which often goes through peaks and valleys, without looking at more than two or three years of numbers.

In the last decade, homicides have been on a downward trend, statistics published by Toronto police show. So far this year, Toronto has seen 53 homicides, including the 10 people killed in the Yonge St. rampage — an anomaly criminologists and police stress must be taken into consideration when discussing homicide numbers.

Of the homicides so far this year, 26 have been shooting deaths. At the same time last year, there had been 17 fatal shootings, while there were 24 by mid-July in 2016.

To date, the city has seen 212 reported shootings. At the same time last year there were 188.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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