By Kedar Ahmed
Kedar is volunteer journalist with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE.

Recently the Toronto Police and 51 Division held its quarterly meeting with Regent Park residents at Daniels Spectrum, inviting the community to meet the neighbourhood officers Mohamed Osman, Nigel Thomas, as well as sergeant Henry Dyke, the unit commander. In the meeting the officers provided an update regarding critical incidents, and discussed some of the community programs available to youth.
 
They informed the audience about the statistics pertaining to the crimes that took place in the Regent Park community, and gave the community members an opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions. Key community figures were also in attendance, such as; Candidates for the 2022 municipal election for Ward 13, Nicki Ward, Caroline Murphy, Chris Moise, as well as Kenneth Slater, a manager at Dixon Hall.

The community as well as the candidates agreed that having neighbourhood police officers is essential for the youth and the community in general. Addintioanlly, the officers Police Quarterly Meeting provided a platform for community members to have their voices heard.

The meeting's main goal was to have a better relationship between Regent park residents and the Toronto Police Services. The officers had reports showing facts that crime in Regent park is increasingly going down, and asked the neighbourhood to help them to keep this trajectory from going up by working together.

The meeting was on the whole successful, even though attendance a little on the low side, those who attended the meeting are looking forward to the next one now scheduled for 2023.