The Mackenzie Institute is proud to present a new four-part Zoom presentation series in partnership with the CEO Global Network featuring international experts on policing, ransomware attacks, the dark web and the reliability of the electrical grid.
In Part 1 of our series, we welcome Deputy Chief Dr. Shawna Coxon, who is charge of the Communities & Neighbourhoods Command for the Toronto Police Services.
Deputy Shawna Coxon is in her 24th year of policing with the Toronto Police Service. She is charge of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Command, which includes all 16 police divisions in the City of Toronto and their proactive policing response. This is comprised of community and neighbourhood policing as well as the major crime bureaus. She also oversees the Service’s Traffic Services and the Parking Enforcement Unit. Prior to that, Deputy Coxon was in charge of the Service’s Priority Response Command where she led approximately 2800 people and oversaw a budget of $330 million dollars. Priority Response Command includes all front-line policing and general investigation functions at Toronto’s 16 police divisions, the Service’s Operations Centre, 911 Communications and Court Services.
Shawna Coxon has had a diverse career working in many areas of policing including child abuse, sex crimes, human rights, professional standards, community response, vice and intelligence. She is most proud of the decade she spent investigating, supporting victims, and managing cases at every level of the court system. She was a proud member of the Transformational Task Force where she was the lead for IT and training modernization, as well as the co-lead for Organizational Culture Change. She is most known for having implemented Service’s inaugural Computer Cyber Crime (C3) Section. This was one of many cyber-outcomes from her work as the Team Leader of Operation Reboot, which looked at open source investigative techniques, training, procurement, and cyber-related threats and opportunities. She has worked in many other areas throughout the Service, particularly in investigative units where she has managed cases at every level of court. Her career trajectory shows her ongoing interest in futurism and policing. Deputy Coxon has won numerous awards; however the accolades she remains most proud of are the letters of appreciation from the communities she has helped to improve and the victims she has worked diligently for.
Inspector Coxon has a BA with Honours in Psychology from York University, a MA in Criminology from the University of Toronto and her PhD in Criminal Law from Leicester University. Her areas of research include varying local and international laws pertaining to technology and crime. She is also a published academic who has lectured internationally.
