All eyes are on Toronto this next fortnight as the biggest pop star in the world brings her massive tour to the city, playing in front of sold-out crowds for six nights at the Rogers Centre.
So, is the Toronto Police Service ready for Taylor Swift? The chief says his officers are prepared.
“It’s an exciting time in the city. We’re super excited to have Taylor Swift here for six nights,” TPS Chief Myron Demkiw told CP24 on the eve of the concerts.
“I think it’s important for people to know that the Toronto police have been working really closely with tour organizers, city staff, all departments, to ensure that we have appropriate resources in place to make sure everybody has an incredibly happy and safe time while they come and celebrate the presence of Taylor Swift in our city.”
TPS has given CP24 a look inside its command centre, showing how it plans to manage big crowds and respond to service calls during the concerts.
THE MAP
The command centre is equipped with large screens showing all the information that police need to decide where to deploy resources.
It shows a map of the city and the roads around the Rogers Centre, traffic cameras and news channels.
“It could change just depending on what’s happening. We do have a person, a logistics person, that can swap out and put anything that we have on these screens so prominently,” Sgt. Stephen Hammond said.
The map will also display calls for service in and around the Rogers Centre.
“(It) gives the incident commander and all the people in the (command centre) an opportunity to see where that is and deploy resources to where that call for service is,” Hammond said.
He added that they can also control cameras around the area to look for anything that is happening.
WHO IS IN THE COMMAND CENTRE
Working in the centre are senior Toronto police officers as well as representatives from Toronto Fire, Toronto paramedics and the City of Toronto. Hammond said people from the TTC and Metrolinx can also be added if they are needed.
“Each person in the in these seats have a specific role. So, for example, we might have a person that’s in charge of investigations, or another person may be in charge of operations.
“And the members on the field would call up and say, we need more officers here. That person from operations would then talk to the incident commander, which is a senior officer. And the movement of people would happen. So, they’d move those officers to where they are needed,” Hammond said.
The command centre ensures that important decisions are made right away.
“So, they would have all the information from the ground, including the calls for service and anywhere that needs to be deployed, and they would make that decision to move those resources to the area,” Hammond said.
He describes the centre as a collaborative place where vital information is shared right away. TPS uses the command centre during big events in the city, including Canada Day, New Year’s Eve, and Santa Claus Parade.
RESPONDING TO OTHER CALLS ACROSS THE CITY
A few steps away from the command centre in a separate room is Toronto police’s operations centre, where other calls for service in the city are being tracked.
“What they do is they monitor everything that’s happening in the city of Toronto, moving assets to where the citizens need it, and monitoring all the calls that come in,” Hammond said.
A staff sergeant, a police constable and a media officer are running the operations centre 24/7.
“Rest assured that we have business continuity,” Hammond said.
WHAT CONCERTGOERS WILL SEE
Hammond said concertgoers will see some “lights” on the officers’ uniforms and “different lights” on police cruisers to increase visibility.
“If people need us, they can look over and see the red and blue lights flashing on our uniform, and they can approach us,” he said.
Chief Demkiw, already wearing friendship bracelets, also plans to go to the Rogers Centre to check the operations.
“We’ll be in the neighborhood with some bracelets and looking for opportunities to engage with our communities and celebrate the presence of Taylor Swift, and maybe exchange a few bracelets along the way,” Demkiw said.
In addition to local partners, the chief notes that TPS is also working with policing partners provincially, nationally and internationally.
The chief urged concertgoers to plan ahead and use public transit.
“We will have an area around the stadium that we’ll be keeping secure to ensure that everybody coming down is safe as they come into the stadium and when they leave the area. We’ll make sure everybody can do so safely,” Demkiw said.
“We’re very well prepared, and we’re super excited to have a great set of concerts.”