Chiefs Through
the Years

  • William Higgins, 1834
  • George Kingsmill, 1835,1837-1846
  • James Stitt, 1836
  • George Allen, 1847-1852
  • Samuel Sherwood, 1852-1858
  • William Stratton Prince,1859-1873
  • Frank C. Draper, 1874-1886
  • H.J. Grasett, 1886-1920
  • Samuel Dickson, 1920-1928
  • Dennis Draper, 1928-1946
  • John Chisholm, 1946-1958
  • James Mackey, 1958-1970
  • Harold Adamson, 1970-1980
  • Jack Ackroyd, 1980-1984
  • Jack Marks, 1984-1989
  • William McCormack, 1989-1995
  • David Boothby, 1995-2000
  • Julian Fantino, 2000-*

    *This list dates from the appointment of Toronto’s first full-time High Constable in 1834.

Did you Know...

  • The longest-serving Chief in Torontos history is H.J. Grasett, 34 years from 1886-1920. He shares the honour with David Boothby of being the only two Chiefs whose tenure straddled two centruies.
  • Prior to the first full-time police officers, hired in 1835, the magistrate selected 12 men a year and gave these volunteers a choice - do your duty with the Constabulary or face a fine. There were no patrols; police were called on only when needed.
High Tech Sleuthing
Toronto police have always used the latest technology to aid investigations. In 1887, for example, police added photos to the records of criminals - a collection dubbed the “Rogues’ Gallery”, later the “mug book”. Fingerprinting came in 1906, and in 1923 Toronto became the first police service in North America with a “single finger-print file”, allowing for more productive searches at crime scenes.

These days we have virtually traded-in the magnifying glass for the computer. Our new Forensic Identification Services facility with its cutting- edge technology and staff, can minutely examine anything from a microbe to a mini-bus. Its computers can
analyze thousands of finger-prints a second; in fact, TPS is one hub of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. DNA tests, ballistics, and other forensic techniques are now a sophisticated science. The Toronto Police Service leads the way in employing innovative new technology.

There is the “Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System”, which can determine patterns of violent behaviour and link offenders to cases. There is "Total Station", a laser measuring technology to measure complex collision scenes and create computer-generated diagrams. And there is “Crime Tracker”, which uses computer mapping and probabilities to predict when, where and
against whom a crime is likely to happen. Technology that police couldn't have imagined at the turn of the last century is common at the turn of this one. Whatever tools will emerge to help police investigations in this new millennium, TPS will surely be at the forefront of adopting them.
The Volunteer Contingent
Volunteers have been an integral part of policing in Toronto right from the beginning. In its first year in 1834, the Toronto Police Force had just one paid officer. The remaining 14 officers were “appointed volunteers”. From that time forward, volunteers served in a variety of informal supportive roles, and became an invaluable resource for the growing Toronto Police Force.

The present day Toronto Police Auxiliary had its formal beginnings in 1956 as a section of the now disbanded Metropolitan Toronto Civil Defence Organization.
Today, the 270 members of the TPS Auxiliary volunteer at least 200 hours each per year, assisting the parent Service with crowd control, searches, and crime prevention programs. The Auxiliary Police Service is staffed by people in all walks of life, from home-makers to tradesmen, and university students to professionals. Most simply want to give something back to the community in which they live. Others see this as way of “trying out policing” while they decide whether to pursue a career as a police officer.

Whatever their motivation, these unarmed volunteers with their yellow and black hat-bands provide a valuable resource, and are welcomed by the parent Service and the public alike, at events both large and small.

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