The 63 students who graduated in a Youth In Policing Initiative after 17 weeks of study.
They are working to keep the city safer.
More than 60 students from across the City graduated in a Toronto Police after-school program after 17 weeks of hard work.
The students were part of a 2023 Fall Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) to learn more about policing and the work police officers do.
The graduation of 63 students, aged 15 to 18, took place on December 9 at the Toronto Police College, on Birmingham Street, in New Toronto.
Attending the event were Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue, MPP Christine Hogarth, Michael Parsa, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and Police Services Board Member Nadine Spencer.
The youths worked at police Divisions across the City and shadowed officers on calls.
“These students worked at various Divisions where they gained job experiences and life skills through their interactions with police officers and community members,” police said in a release.
The initiative is part of the Government of Ontario’s Youth Opportunities Strategy to build stronger communities by establishing and expanding community programs that help youth achieve a brighter future.
Grads of the YIPI program go on to help their communities.
This program gives young people a paid opportunity to develop job skills while fostering positive partnerships with the Toronto Police Service, better connecting our organization to the people we serve, police said.
Youth who reside in a Neighbourhood Improvement Area in Toronto, are employed throughout the year, working alongside police officers and civilian staff in a wide range of roles. The program is offered full-time in the summer and after-school during the rest of the year.
The young people represented 31 neighbourhoods throughout the city namely: Mount Olive-Silverstone- Jamestown; Elms-Old Rexdale; York University Heights; Black Creek; Regent Park; Flemingdon Park; South Parkdale; Crescent Town; Thistletown-Beaumond Heights; Rustic; Glenfield-Jane Heights; Thorncliffe Park and Weston-Pallam Park.