The Toronto Police Service is embroiled in an unprecedented crisis following a criminal investigation that led to several officers being charged with a list of drug trafficking, theft, conspiracy, fraud and other offences related to an organized crime investigation.

Project South was a seven-month long investigation that disrupted a criminal network that used information supplied to them via police databases.

The details of Project South were disclosed during a news conference that featured senior police officers bizarrely wearing bullet-proof vests. The core of these allegations involve claims of officers leaking information to this network that contributed to a series of violent crimes, including a conspiracy to murder a correctional officer.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw promised that no stone would be left unturned in the investigation and said the actions of a few officers did not define the force. He requested an independent external investigation before announcing the Project South charges.

The head of the Toronto Police Association, Clayton Campbell, similarly said there is “nothing our members hate more than a corrupt cop.”

Ontario’s inspector general of policing announced the province will lead a review of police services to address corruption in policing.

These public statements and requests for a probe are best understood through the lens of police image management, which refers to the array of what are essentially marketing strategies employed by police services to maintain their public image.

The police employ a series of strategic communications in........

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