Impact of ‘racialized communities’
Independent expert selected to look into police checks in Halifax
The crime-fighting potential of police street checks must be weighed against the possible negative impact on racialized communities, says an independent expert examining the practice in Halifax.
“It might be a double-edged sword,” Scot Wortley told a board of police commissioners meeting Monday. “Street checks have potentially very detrimental impacts on certain populations and we’ve got to weigh those consequences with the possible crime-fighting potential.”
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has hired Wortley, a University of Toronto criminology professor and author on race and crime, to review street checks in Halifax after data showed black men were three times more likely than whites to be subjected to the controversial practice.
Advocates of police street checks say it helps law enforcement gather intelligence and improve public safety, while opponents say it targets black people and violates human rights.
Halifax police say street checks are used to record suspicious activity. Although police stop and question people, the checks can also be “passive” with information recorded based on observations rather than interactions.
“This is by no means a problem that is isolated to Halifax,” Wortley said. “The issue of policing and how different minority communities are policed is probably one of the most contentious and controversial issues in law enforcement.”
Wortley will conduct a detailed analysis of street check data, hold town hall-style meetings in the community, identify gaps in the data, evaluate the potential for racial bias and make recommendations.
He said a final report should be ready in about two months.
Earlier this year, Ontario banned police carding, a controversial practice also known as street checks.
However, Halifax Regional Police Chief Jean-Michel Blais said the street checks conducted in Halifax differ from carding.
“Carding is a totally different thing. It’s based on a geographical area,” he said. “Carding is something that really we just don’t do.”