Toronto Police chief Bill Blair photographed during an interview with The Globe and Mail at the Toronto Police Headquarter on College St., Toronto Dec. 17, 2012.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
Police Chief Bill Blair said he will not recommend closing 54 Division, something that he said he would look into as a cost-saving measure to deal with the Toronto force's budget freeze.
The division serves neighbourhoods north of Danforth Avenue, East of the Don River to Victoria Park Avenue.
"They've asked me to report back but I'm not going to close it," he said at a Thursday meeting of the Police Services Board.
In January, 2013, after the police budget was frozen by the board, Chief Blair told CBC's Metro Morning he was looking at a possible merger of 54 and 55 divisions in order to cut administrative costs.
When the city mandated that the police force keep its budget to $927.8-million, Chief Blair said he would have to make cuts, including possibly laying off officers, because the force was bound to provide a contract-mandated pay raise.
At the time, he said money would be better spent on front-line officers, and that operating 16 divisions instead of 17 would save a lot of money.
At the board meeting Thursday, he said he now has a different position.
"We did look at the efficacy of doing that, what the cost would be and what the impact on service delivery would be. But after taking a good look at it, I'm not recommending it."