'Our ads in our words': Why Toronto Police funded a $99K anti-violence campaign

One begins with the thumping beat of a hip-hop street anthem. Another, with the bouncing piano melody of an R&B ballad.

They sound a lot like the regular music on any of Toronto's urban radio stations, which is exactly the point. 

But each of these half-minute blasts has a message.

One goes: "Outta love from a G, I got three words that might keep you on your feet: just think first."

Another, in the flow of spoken-word poetry: "They say hindsight is 20/20, no foresight can leave you with 20 to 25."

The public service announcements are produced by the Toronto anti-gun violence organization Just Think 1st and have been airing across the city since July.

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"I thought this is great," Ezekiel Tully, 13, thought after hearing one of the PSAs on the airwaves. "Our ads in our words are being preached to everyone who can hear it."

The seven PSAs are variations on the same message: that a few moments of calm and a commitment to conflict resolution will keep more of Toronto's young black men from the horrors of gun violence.

What could be said, but isn't: "This message has been brought to you by the Toronto Police Service."

Police turn to experts

The Toronto Police Services Board agreed to fund the Just Think 1st campaign through its Special Fund at a cost of $99,000 earlier this summer. The board will be hearing an update on the campaign's first phase at its meeting Monday.

"We've gotten a really good reception in terms of feedback from all across the country and, of course, the city of Toronto," said Just Think 1st executive producer Roderick Brereton, who will be providing the update to the board.

The campaign is now wrapping up, but Brereton says the message reached thousands of young people through social media, and the radio PSAs have aired on several of the most popular music stations in the city.

Crucially, the messages were communicated through the language and sounds that resonate with the target demographic, a task that might have been a struggle for Toronto Police on its own, Brereton says.

"I think it was almost a way for the police to say that, 'We do need assistance, we do need the community to come on board and help us with the anti-violence message,'" he said.

Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Ron Boyce was intrigued when he first heard the pitch from Brereton and his fellow Just Think 1st organizer Farley Flex.

"They were going to take an urban angle to reach the youth in the city and I thought that was very interesting," Boyce said. "I thought that their ideas sounded good and they could quite possibly work."

Boyce helped Brereton and Flex craft the proposal that would eventually land them with the $99,000 grant from the Toronto Police Services Board.

More than PSAs

The campaign has also expanded beyond the airwaves and Internet.

Just Think 1st visited Ezekiel Tully and his classmates at Alexander Stirling Public School in Malvern earlier this fall.

"I thought it would help individuals, especially black males. because what I've been seeing so far is they've been getting into fights and someone would get shot or end up dead," said Tully. "A lot of our students in our school now have learned to just think first and to defuse situations."

The group also led a workshop with around 20 police officers in early December, where they provided tips on how to better engage with the young people most affected by gun violence.

At the conclusion of its first campaign, Just Think 1st says it was a success, but it'll need to keep it up over a much longer term.

"It can't just last a couple months and we think everyone's going to get it, Brereton said. "It's got to be something that you're constantly hearing."

That will mean more funding, which the group will be seeking as it moves into the next phase of its existence.

"It's going to definitely take more in terms of investment," Brereton added. "But we've got a lot to lose."