---
title: "Toronto police stop taking new community safety hub requests"
description: "Chief Myron Demkiw has frozen new applications for community safety hubs while the force develops metrics to measure whether the four existing locations are working."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/news/toronto-police-community-safety-hubs-pause-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-13T16:52:47.172Z"
---

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw froze new applications for community safety hubs on November 12, CBC reported, after a large volume of locations applied to host one. The four existing hubs remain open.

## What the hubs are

Community safety hubs are staffed locations inside shopping centres and community spaces where residents can talk to officers in a non-enforcement setting. Toronto Police run four: Fairview Mall in North York, Lawrence Heights, Shops at Don Mills and Dufferin Mall in Parkdale-High Park. The Dufferin Mall hub opened in September 2026 and is the most recent.

The hubs focus on crime prevention through officer visibility and are designed so people can approach police without making a formal call. The Toronto Police Association told CBC that the approach is made possible by the hiring of 627 net new officers during Mayor [Olivia Chow](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow)'s first three years in office.

## Why applications are paused

Demkiw said his team received many requests from locations wanting to host a hub. CBC reported his words on November 12: "We have many requests coming in. I've asked the team to pause so we can figure out some evaluation metrics to ensure that we're having the outcomes we expect before we start rolling out broadly."

No date has been given for when the application process will reopen. The pause does not affect the four operating hubs.

## One hub still planned

A new police sub-station at Union Station is still going ahead, funded by Metrolinx, according to CBC's report. That location will also host addiction and mental health support services alongside officers.

## A critic's concern

Human rights advocate Selwyn Pieters raised concerns about where hubs are placed. CBC reported that Pieters cited 2022 data on disproportionate use of force against Black and Indigenous people during police interactions in public spaces, and cautioned that the same patterns could emerge in mall and transit settings.

Residents who want to know about policing in their area can find their local Toronto Police division on the service's website, or follow the [promise tracker for the mayor and councillors](/on/toronto-2026/tracker) for decisions on policing through the new council term, which starts November 15.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/on/toronto-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.