Toronto police say investigators are launching a new initiative to address a rise in criminal and violent incidents in the tow truck industry.
Police say plainclothes and uniformed officers will be deployed in critical areas around Toronto to tackle shootings, arsons and other criminal acts linked to “bad actors” in the industry.
They say such incidents have been tied to ongoing territorial disputes within the towing industry in the city.
Police say the industry has seen an increase in gun violence, with 63 firearm discharge and shooting incidents linked to tow truck-related disputes last year, accounting for almost 13 per cent of all shootings in Toronto.
They say tow truck-related violence has escalated this year, with several shootings in Scarborough last week.
Those shootings include last Wednesday, when a tow truck driver was shot in the area of Markham Road and Sheppard Avenue East.
Two days earlier, Toronto police arrested two people linked to a carjacking incident where investigators say people in a tow truck forced another vehicle to pull over before stealing it.
Then last month, Durham police said they were investigating two shootings in Ajax they believe may be linked to ongoing tow truck-related violence, after the front doors of two different homes were shot at within minutes of each other on the evening of Dec. 12.
Police created a similar task force from June to August of last year that resulted in the arrests of six people and 184 charges related to a homicide and 13 tow truck-related shooting incidents.