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Police data shows that firearm-related arrests of minors reached 175 in 2024, representing a 37 percent increase over the 110 arrests recorded in 2023.
Digital Funnel and Encrypted Recruitment
Initial contact typically occurs on mainstream consumer platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, or through in-game online video chats. Once contact is established, communications quickly transition to encrypted messaging applications such as Telegram or Signal, where participants use virtual numbers to maintain anonymity.
By maintaining distance through intermediaries—sometimes up to six degrees of separation from the ultimate client—the financial backers of these violent acts reduce their personal exposure to risk.
Exploitation of Minors and Legal Loopholes
Criminal networks view adolescents as low-cost, easily manipulated labor, often targeting youth from disadvantaged backgrounds or those experiencing school dropout. Criminologist and cyberviolence specialist Maria Mourani explained that organizers deliberately exploit adolescent immaturity and the provisions of Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice System, which generally shields minors from the severe penalties applied to adults. Through online manipulation, recruiters convince young people that they face minimal consequences, frequently deploying them without basic operational knowledge regarding weapons or arson.
Toronto Police Service statistics outline fluctuating arrest totals over recent years. Following the peak of 175 minor firearm arrests in 2024—up 46 percent from 2022—police reported 96 youth arrests linked to 381 charges. By August 13 of that year, 70 minors had been arrested on firearm charges, facing a total of 258 counts.
Policing Challenges and Preventative Solutions
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw has advocated for federal legislation, including Bill C-22 concerning lawful access to encrypted data, arguing that police remain constrained without tools to decode digital communications. Maria Mourani supported this position, emphasizing the need for investigative resources to combat severe virtual crimes such as sextortion and recruitment, provided strict accountability measures are in place.
Conversely, social intervention advocates argue that increased policing does not address the root causes of youth violence. University of Ottawa professor Eugène Waller noted that harsher penalties lack a deterrent effect, pointing to cities like Chicago where strict sentencing coincides with high homicide rates. Waller suggested redirecting municipal funds toward neighborhood-level prevention and emotional management programs for at-risk young men.
Marcell Wilson emphasized that intervention must occur long before a minor obtains a firearm, advocating for measures that support families and equip communities with resources to protect children before criminal recruitment takes place.
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