Toronto’s police chief says officers are now taking a “zero tolerance” approach to dealing with those who violate physical distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I had a conversation with the mayor yesterday and what we’re now doing is we’re moving past the education piece,” Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters Saturday afternoon.
Saunders says an enforcement blitz that’s in effect over the Easter weekend is supposed to be operating until April 13, but may be extended.
The “zero tolerance” approach will extend beyond that, in all situations where officers are working to enforce physical distancing, Saunders said.
“If a three year old runs into another family’s physical distancing, we’re not going to start laying out tickets there,” he explained.
“The ones that are deliberately breaching, they’ll definitely be charged.”
Saunders said as the public becomes more educated, those violating the rules are likely to be doing it deliberately.
“As we move towards warmer days, we know that this is going to become a problem,” he added.
City of Toronto officials later said bylaw officers have also begun to take a similar hard-line approach.
Park amenities remain closed in Toronto amid the pandemic. A bylaw is also currently in effect banning people from being within two metres of one another in public parks and squares. The law applies to those who do not live with each other.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has prohibited gatherings of more than five people.
Police have previously said they have various “enforcement tools,” including tickets of up to $1,000.
Saunders’ comments come after Mayor John Tory sent a letter to the police chief and Carleton Grant, the executive director of municipal licensing and standards, calling for stricter action.
In the letter, Tory said he wants to see more tickets issued, not just warnings.
“As you also know, despite very simple legal and health requirements, the most important of which is for people to remain two metres apart, there are still many people who are not doing what they must do to stay healthy themselves and to protect the health of others,” Tory said.
“We have reports of everything from bonfires on the beach, to hanging out in groups in parking lots, to playing pickup sports in closed areas, all of which involve groups of people who don’t live with each other and thus could spread the virus.”
Tory said the majority of Toronto residents are following the guidelines, and for those who have not complied, officers have given “hundreds of informational talks, many warnings and some tickets.”
Tory said “the time has come for stricter enforcement and more tickets.”
“As an elected official I cannot direct law enforcement as to how they enforce the law, but I am by way of this letter offering my strong opinion,” he said.
During the weekend of April 4 to 5, nearly 2,500 people were spoken to in the city and just under 30 tickets were issued.
In this weekend’s blitz, there are 200 bylaw officers taking part, 160 Toronto police members, and parking enforcement will be patrolling closed-off lots.
Toronto Police Service said as of Friday, their officers had issued a total of 2,526 cautions, three tickets for provincial offences, four tickets under the city’s bylaw, 88 parking tags and four tows.
As of Friday, there were 1,891 cases of COVID-19 in Toronto, including 1,637 confirmed and 254 probable cases. Seventy-seven people have died from COVID-19 in the city.
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