Scarborough Town Centre and the surrounding neighbourhoods have become highly unsafe for children, youth and families and as Scarborough residents we are concerned by the increased amounts of violence and continued apathy amongst the politicians, media, Scarborough Town Centre (and its management), and the Toronto Police Services. 

This is what a mother of two children visiting the Scarborough Town Centre had to endure (as was shared on FB) and we are sure this is just a small sample of the prevalent issues:

“Few months back my son and his friends were mugged at Scarborough Town Centre by some hooligans. My son's friend's shoes and jacket were robbed from him.

He was assaulted and robbed right outside of STC entrance. The security was informed and the police came and took the information. We haven't heard from them after that. A by-stander took pictures of those who assaulted them and those pictures were given to the Security and Police.

Last Saturday around 6 PM my daughter and I witnessed a few boys being mugged right in front of us in Scarborough Town Centre at the food court in public display. The food court was packed and  about 10 to 12 people with ski masks assaulted a boy who was about 14 or 15 years old and took his shoes and ran away. I talked to the boys who were assaulted as I wanted to help them but they were too afraid to report the incident as they feel they will be targeted later. It is obvious the STC has become a hotspot for gangs of  people to assault unsuspecting teenagers to steal their shoes, jackets and phones. Obviously this has become a norm in Scarborough Town Centre and the management is not doing anything to  prevent this. There were cameras everywhere, I am sure those who are involved in this violent crime can be identified as this is happening way too often, obviously they know they won't get caught.

Increasing incidents of violence in STC needs to be addressed otherwise this place will not be a safe place to go to. Only few violent incidents are reported in the media; others go unreported. I will not let my teenage kids go to STC anymore and I really hope STC management, Toronto Police and other stakeholders take appropriate measures to stop this menace. I am furious that violent incidents like these are normalised in such a way that people just walk past as nothing happened.

Here is my daughter's note:

This afternoon I was at Scarborough Town Centre with my mother. We were about to leave the Taste Market near Chatime. There I saw a young boy running and attempting to push past a swarm of people. The next thing I saw was a gang of people chasing the boy. They were dressed in complete black clothing as well as ski masks. At first the situation was blurry and I didn't realise the exact scene that was happening in front of me. I assumed they were just friends messing around with each other, until one of the guys with the ski mask started to drag the boy on the floor while removing his shoes. He quickly fled the area along with the gang as soon as he got them. There were so many people in the area and it all happened so quickly I was barely able to process any of it. It is too frightening to see the boy being assaulted and I would be too afraid to go to the mall again without making sure there are proper safety measures in place.”

We invite people to sign this petition to call upon the various stakeholders to take the following steps immediately to make this neighbourhood safe for our families.

1. Increase Police presence inside the Scarborough Town Centre (STC) and increase the police patrolling in and around the STC, Albert Campbell Square, and the Toronto Public Library;
2. Hold a Public meeting to engage and establish a dialogue with the public (involving the general public, Businesses serving the neighbourhood,  Toronto Police Services, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), City councillors, Toronto District School Board Trustees, Members of Provincial Parliament and Members of Parliament serving Scarborough);
3. Improve and streamline complaint procedures for victims of violence and provide transparency with the outcomes of investigations;
4. Increased access to victim support services;
5. Improve funding for outreach activities for organisations serving at-risk or vulnerable youth;

Residents for a Safe Scarborough