Jack Ackroyd
| Jack Ackroyd | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the Metropolitan Toronto Police | |
|
In office 1980–1984 |
|
| Preceded by | Harold Adamson |
| Succeeded by | Jack Marks |
| Head of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario | |
|
In office 1984–1991 |
|
| Succeeded by | Andy Brandt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1925 |
| Died | September 29, 1992 Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse(s) | Ethelyn Elizabeth "Lyn" (née Brown) Ackroyd |
| Children | Karen, Vivyan, Earl (1st marriage); Lynda, Kevin (step-children) |
John Wesley Ackroyd (1925 – September 29, 1992) was a prominent Canadian Chief of Police and high level Ontario civil servant. He served as the chief of the Metro Toronto Police Force from 1980 to 1984. Known as an ideas man, and 'kind cop' he introduced community policing when he was the deputy chief. Though later, during his term as the chief, the biggest mass civilian arrest since the Second World War occurred in Toronto's Gay district. Following his retirement from the police force, he was head of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario from 1984 to 1990, where he modernized the retail operations and its marketing.
Jack Ackroyd joined the Toronto Police Department as cadet, in 1941. He rose through the ranks and by the mid 1970s, was a deputy police chief. During this period he earned the nickname "Kojak", after the 1970s TV show and character Kojak. One of his biggest accomplishments was introducing "community policing" to the Metro force in the late 1970s. This so-called "more humane" style of policing was lauded by the media and politicians alike. Ackroyd will be remembered for this major innovation and for the following dark incidents that occurred on his watch.
During the spring and summer of 1977, Toronto's city and metro councils were under pressure to do something about the sex trade and sex shops that were housed in the area along Yonge street from Queen to Bloor streets following the death of the twelve-year-old shoe-shine boy, Emanuel Jaques. The crisis was more political than real; nevertheless, under pressure from Toronto mayor David Crombie, Ackroyd had to plan and implement a neighbourhood sweep on the scale of the 1968 Yorkville sweep. Like in the Yorkville "crisis", Yonge street did not pose a major policing problem. The police were not raising a fuss for something to be done, it was the politicians, this time led by Crombie. Another factor driving this sweep was economic, as the newly opened Eaton Centre did not want this 'riff-raff' near its business establishment. So, over the course of a few months, Ackroyd – following the political directives issued by city council and the provincial government – ordered his officers to step up their patrols on this commercial strip and forced the closure of many shops and arrested prostitutes and their clients.
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Wikipedia