“I’ve met a lot of great officers during my career who are very passionate about how we make this city a better place. Those officers asked the necessary questions to understand the unique needs of individuals and communities,” says Knight, the new Diversity & Inclusion Manager for the Service. “I believe that the Toronto Police Service can be a leader in social change, a beacon.”

She aims to connect officers to communities by creating mechanisms to let communities tell them about their perceptions of police, while also reaching out to communities to help them understand the role of police officers.

“I want to challenge the thought that the police are on one side and the community are on the other,” says Knight, paraphrasing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Our destinies are inextricably linked… the truth is simply that we need to be able to rely on one another. Our future lies in our ability to work together, tear down barriers and build trust.”

Success at creating an inclusive workforce, and trust and respect among diverse groups and communities is crucial as racialized individuals are projected to be 63% of Toronto’s population in 2031 according to Statistics Canada. Not secondary to that is that people with disabilities make up nearly 15% of the population over 15 years old in the country.