TPS Community Alert: YIPI Program - seeking recruits

The Service is looking for Toronto’s most enthusiastic youngsters to join the ranks of the police this summer.
The Service is now accepting applications for the 2010 Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI). This summer, 150 young people ages 14 to 17 will get the opportunity to work with police, from the Mounted and Marine Units to their local divisions.

The provincially funded program is designed to engage teens from Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods to gain a better understanding of police while earning money over the summer. Applications are due by Feb.17 (information on applications below).

“It’s not a job, it’s an experience,&rdqu o; YIPI coordinator Danielle Dowdy says.

“Our past students all ask if they can come back to work with us again and often come back to volunteer or stop by to tell us how they’re doing. They end up with mentors from the Service and friends from across the city.” Dowdy says by working with police, YIPI students get to see police officers in a different light and consider becoming a member of the Service whether it is as an officer or civilian.

“Our students work with the police and get to see how the police operate across the city – a lot of our students say they were once intimidated to talk to police,” Dowdy says, of students learning officers are just like them and have similar interests and strong family connections.

She says officers have also told her about developing a better understanding of kids across the city “It helps officers who are working with the kids be able to relate to youth in our city better.”

To be eligible, candidates must reside in one of the following neighbourhoods:

- Eglinton East – Kennedy Park
- Scarborough Village
- Kingston – Galloway
- South Parkdale
- Westminster – Branson
- Steeles – L’Amoreaux
- Weston – Mt. Dennis
- Lawrence Heights
- Flemingdon – Victoria Village
- Crescent Town
- Malvern
- Jane – Finch
- Jamestown
- Regent Park
- Dorset Park

Also, to be eligible:

- be between 14 and 17,
- not have been convicted of a criminal offence for which a pardon has not been granted or have any charges pending before the courts
- be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- be legally eligible to work in Canada
- must be returning to school in September

Application packages can be picked up at police stations, at the Employment Unit at police headquarters, online at www.torontopolice.on.ca/careers, or at the following community centre locations:

- Driftwood Community Centre (4401 Jane Street
at Finch Ave. W.)
- Malvern Recreation Centre (30 Sewells Road at
Neilson Road)
- Regent Park North Community Centre (203 Sackville Green at Parliament St.)
- Rexdale Youth Resource Centre (1530 Albion Road
in the Albion Mall)
Information sessions will be held:

- January 30, 2010: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at police headquarters (40 College Street)
- February 3, 2010: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at 31 Division (40 Norfinch Dr.)
- February 10, 2010: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at 43 Division (4331 Lawrence Ave. E.)
- February 13, 2010: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Toronto Police College (70 Birmingham Street)

TPSLinks System Registration

33 Division is proud to announce the new Toronto Police Service TPSLinks Automated Notification System to increase communication between the police, residents and business owners within Toronto.

TPSLinks utilizes advanced technology that allows the Toronto Police Service to send informative messages to notify community members about safety concerns, emergencies, missing persons, amber alerts and such occurrences as road closures and community events. TPSLinks will also provide helpful instructions to assist during an emergency or major incident.

For more information and to register for TPSLinks notifications, Toronto residents and business owners are asked to visit the Toronto Police website at www.torontopolice.on.ca and c lick on the TPSLinks icon (located on the right-hand side of the page).

In order to receive TPSLinks System Notifications from 33 Division, please indicate "33 Division" when you register.

This message is sent to you by PC Kelly Downie (5535),
33 Division, Crime Prevention Officer

Ward 33 E-blast

Hello Ward 33 Residents,

Happy New Year! As 2010 gets rolling, we are already very busy. Below are reminders and information that you might be interested in.

Signing-Up for Blog Updates through Councillor Carroll's Website
Signing up for blog updates through Councillor Carroll's website is now even easier than before! We are phasing out mass emails such as this one, so everyone is encouraged to sign up in order to continue to receive important information about Ward 33 and the City of Toronto.

To sign up for the blog update follow these easy steps:
Step 1 - go to www.shelleycarroll.ca
Step 2 - click on the "blog" tab
Step 3 - go to the "Click here to sign-up" button and follow the prompts.

For security reasons staff in our office are unable to sign you up to receive these updates. However, should you encounter any challenges, please contact our office and we will be happy to assist you.

Meeting Reminders

Councillor Carroll's Town Hall
7:00pm - 9:00pm
January 25, 2010
Don Valley Junior High School, Cafeteria

Constituency Day
January 23, 2010
Fairview Public Library, Meeting Room 2
Please call our office for an appointment

Automatic Rent Reduction
The Residential Tenancies Act allows residential tenants to automatically reduce their rents where the rental building in which they live has experienced a property tax decrease of more than 2.49% in two consecutive years.

If you live in a building where this is the case, you should have received a letter in December from the City of Toronto explaining this. The letter would have also indicated what percentage you can reduce your rent by. You do not need your landlord's permission to reduce your rent, however, the City does recommend that you talk to your landlord about the amount of rental reduction and new monthly rental amount that you will be paying.

If you have any questions about this including whether or not you live in a building that qualifies for an automatic rent reduction, please contact our office.

Recycling Collection
The City of Toronto has implemented aggressive diversion programs to reduce waste from landfill. Part of the success of these programs relies on the ability of residents to effectively participate in diversion efforts. As a result, solid waste staff will collect overflow recycling items that are put out in clear plastic bags along with blue bins on recycling collection days.

If your household regularly puts out overflow recycling items you may want to consider upgrading the size of your blue bin. You can do this by calling 416-392-BINS (2467) or our office.

Volunteers Wanted
Throughout the year our office can always use a few extra helping hands. We organize many large community events and volunteers from the community help to ensure that they are successful. We also have a very busy office and welcome the addition of volunteers to help us out whenever possible.

If you are interested please contact our office and we will speak to you about the types of tasks that we have available.

Best regards,
Councillor Shelley Carroll and the Ward 33 Team