1977 Yonge Street clean-up
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Another factor driving this sweep was economic, as the newly opened Eaton Centre did not want this 'riff-raff' near its business establishment.[9] 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.[12]
1981 Bathhouse raids
Jack Ackroyd became the Metro Force's Chief of Police in 1980 following the tenure of Harold Adamson (police chief). Again political – not policing – concerns overshadowed how the Gay Community around the Church and Wellesly area should be monitored. During Ackroyd's first year as the chief, there was both a municipal election in November 1980, and a provincial one in March 1981.
Ackroyd, in an interview with the Toronto Star, talked about how police officers should act professionally, despite their personal prejudices:
We can't force people to give up their prejudices or their biases, not even policemen. But a cop has to be prepared to be professional. ...I might have some personal prejudices about the lifestyle choice of homosexuals, but that cannot enter into my work. Legally and morally, they are entitled to the protection of the police department.[14]
A few days later on February 5, 1981, under his reign as police chief, one of Canada's largest civilian round-ups occurred in the city's gay ghetto. It was the infamous "Bathhouse raids" and as the CBC reported "the largest mass arrest in Canada since the October Crisis of 1970."[15] 286 people were arrested,[15] and Ackroyd defended it by the fact that there were several criminal code violations and that he "...as Chief, have no other course of action but to go along with the direction of
the Crown Attorney."[16]
Large protests followed these raids, and the raids became a rallying symbol for the Gay community.[17] Because the raids took place in the middle of a provincial election, it was seen by many observers including the Toronto Star, that the raids were politically motivated to help the ruling Conservative government gain a majority.[18] His career was an interesting dichotomy of progressive reform with the community-based policing approach, as well as accusations that the police force became an instrument for political advantage as seen in his handling of the policing of the Gay community.[19]