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Think Tank: A Design Thinking Approach to Public Safety Designed with the Friends of St. James Park Toronto Police Service Authored by: Business Intelligence and Analytics Unit & 51 Division Community Response Unit

Picture Source: https://www.panoramio.com/photo/34539511 Author: torontocitylife

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Think Tank: Friends of St. James Park

Date: October 29th, 2018 Location: Snell Hall, St. James Cathedral Centre, 65 Church St, Toronto, ON M5C 2E9 Number of attendees: 70 Sponsoring Division: 51 Presenters: S/Sgt Brian MASLOWSKI Sgt. Dwayne FERNANDES Co-Facilitators: Business Intelligence & Analytics Unit Manager Ian WILLIAMS PC Shaun HILDEBRAND Jhoanna HARRISON Pankhudi SINGH

Summary The revival of St. James Park as a community park has been one of the priorities for 51 Division. The Community Response Unit officers, with the assistance of Strategic Planning, conducted a survey in the neighborhood to assess the level of enthusiasm to support this initiative and to identify the root problems. A total of 813 responses were collected during the survey, in which 250 respondents expressed an interest in attending a community meeting.

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Workshop Overview

Workshop Objective On October 29th, 2018, officers from 51 Division and members of the St. James Park neighborhood came together to tackle a problem statement for community members and Toronto Police Service to collaboratively revive St. James Park.

Workshop Approach

Based on Design Thinking Principles, the purpose of this meeting was to ideate the possible solutions to make St. James Park better. The meeting was conducted in three phases:

1. Empathize: S/Sgt Brian MASLOWSKI and Sgt. Dwayne FERNANDES stated that they understand the problems that the users of St. James Park are facing, and they are committed to supporting a community-based solution to those problems.

2. Define: Initially, the event programming was presented to the attendees. The presenters broke

down the problem into various parts and identified the constraints that would be encountered when trying to solve these problems. The issues mentioned in this phase were drug use in the park, public urination/defecation, loitering, consumption of alcohol and homelessness. The attendees then broke out into five different groups.

3. Ideate: In this phase, the attendees were asked to generate and rank their ideas based on impact

and feasibility. The participants were then asked to use a Prioritization Map and Option Map to sort their ideas. In the last part of this phase, each group was asked to choose one leader to share their best ideas.

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Group 1 Big Ideas Big ideas are broad and conceptual focused on user needs. Further ideas included:

Lighting o Improve the lighting conditions in

the park

Community Outreach/Support o Better support for homeless people,

involve local shelters and help the disadvantaged

o Presence of outreach volunteers in the park

Security o Increase police presence in the

park o Community Security Patrol

Facilities/Infrastructure o Better maintenance o Close the park at night o Outdoor skating rink

Culture/Art o Feature public art o Play classical music all night

Programming o Install community kiosks that is staffed all the times o Family-friendly organized events

Group 1 Prioritization With many ideas to consider, teams evaluate and prioritize them by focusing discussion on impact and feasibility. The team voted on the ideas based on impact and feasibility. All the ideas presented would make a valuable impact to the user; however, two ideas stood out:

Rebranding the park into a Destination Park

Creating community partnerships with surrounding businesses and schools

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Group 2 Big Ideas Big ideas are broad and conceptual focused on user needs. Further ideas included:

Community Police communication o Targeted and routine communication via

social media or website o Online Event Calendar

Improved Lighting

Designated Dog Area o Reduced health risks o Everyone feels safe including the dog

owners and non-owners

Public Washrooms o Will help reduce public defecation o Reduced health risks and reduced safety

concerns

Seating/Loitering o More benches

Waste Removal

Other o Public Events o Kiosks o Singing in the gazebo during the holiday season

Group 2 Prioritization With many ideas to consider, teams evaluate and prioritize them by focusing the discussion on impact and feasibility. The team voted on the ideas based on impact and feasibility. All the ideas presented would make a valuable impact on the user; however, two ideas stood out:

Create an online event calendar to encourage neighbors to use the park.

Improved lighting and seating

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Group 3 Big Ideas Big ideas are broad and conceptual focused on user needs. Further ideas included:

Community Involvement o Volunteers to patrol and o Online Event Calendar

Park maintenance

Visibility & Park Design o Cut down the bushes o Make the park plain- no hills o More Seating o Strategically Placed garbage collectors

Police Presence o More Police on Bikes o Close park overnight o Lock the playground for overnight hours o Report drug users o CCTV cameras o Undercover officers o Police Patrols, foot patrol

Lighting o Brighter lights that face downward

Church Impact

Involve church members and churchgoers in the efforts to make the park better

Group 3 Prioritization With many ideas to consider, teams evaluate and prioritize them by focusing discussion on impact and feasibility. The team voted on the ideas based on impact and feasibility. All the ideas presented would make a valuable impact to the user; however, two ideas stood out:

Improve the police presence in the park

Improved, bright lights that face downward

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Group 4 Big Ideas Big ideas are broad and conceptual focused on user needs. Further ideas included:

Lighting o All year lights in the trees not just in holiday

season

Policing o Video Monitoring o CCTV Cameras- original and fake ones o More Seating o Strategically Placed garbage collectors

Neighbor Community o Encourage people of all ages, all ethnicity

and all generations to use the park o Owners to clean up after their pets o Volunteer events/community events o Community BBQ o Lifestyle activities like yoga in the park o Reading circle during summer o Encourage musicians to play in the park

Structure of the park o Environment friendly design o Designated dog area o Better aesthetics o Greater spacing between the benches o Consider sight lines- bushes, hilly areas o Shared garden/community garden

Group 4 Prioritization The team voted on the ideas based on impact and feasibility. All the ideas presented would make a valuable impact to the user; however, two ideas stood out:

Improve the lighting condition in the park; perhaps all year lights in the trees

Encourage more people to use the park including the ones who have stopped using it after a bad experience

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Group 5 Big Ideas Big ideas are broad and conceptual focused on user needs. Further ideas included:

Better Lighting

Music continuously playing

Little free library/book share

Events/Activities in the park o Entertaining events in the park o Art sales

Community involvement o Host community events in the park o Encouraging the community and surrounding

business owner to utilize the park and hold seasonal events Volunteer events/community events

o Fundraising events

Designated dog areas o Designated off-leash dog areas o Strict rules for owners

Improved Policing o More police patrol o Close the park at night o Provide means for peaceful protests in the park

Group 5 Prioritization The team voted on the ideas based on impact and feasibility. All the ideas presented would make a valuable impact to the user; however, two ideas stood out:

Organize the events that align with the sentiment of common people as it will discourage people who don’t have the same motivation

Encouraging the community and surrounding business owners to utilize the park and hold seasonal events i.e., wine festivals etc.

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Actions & Next Steps

• Volunteers came forward and provided their contact information to be a part of a community group to disseminate information to the community members, organize events, and build a committee for St. James Park.

• Volunteers showed interest in reviving the Facebook page Friends of St. James Park in order to share the information regarding any future events and community walks.

• Members of the community and the Toronto Police Service agreed to meet at the Gazebo in St. James Park on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, at 7:00 pm for the first Community Walk.

• They will decide on further dates to meet and organize other events. • For more design thinking workshops, please contact Business Intelligence

and Analytics Unit.

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