Address the real problem with carding

Re Police carding should be banned in Ontario, independent review says, Dec. 31

Your article started with “Random street checks, or carding, should be banned.” In reality, there is no lawful basis for carding, but everybody seems to ignore that fact. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 9 — Detention or imprisonment 9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

Section 9 says that government officials cannot take individuals into custody or hold them without a good reason.

This charter protection has recently been emphasized. Stricter drunk driving legislation took effect across Canada on Dec. 18, giving police officers the right to demand a breath sample from any driver they lawfully stop.

Much reporting on this subject in December has highlighted the government’s position that persons from whom a sample is demanded must have been detained only if the police had a lawful reason for doing so.

As far as pedestrians are concerned, it should also be noted that, in Canada, no person is required to possess nor be required to produce identification. If a police officer presents a question, the polite thing, of course, would be to hear the question. It may be a matter of public safety or other non-personal query to which every person should fulfil their civic obligations. However, if the questioning gets into personal detail, polite declination is an option.

And a note to the RCMP in Nova Scotia: Stopping drivers to verify the validation stickers on vehicle markers is not a lawful stop.

If you want to do that, take a walk through the parking lot at the mall and make note of the delinquents, then followup with a visit to the home of the registered owner.

Brian Williams, Belleville Re Address racial bias in policing to stop carding, advocates say, Jan. 2

Kofi Hope, Rhodes Scholar says, “You feel unsafe” (dealing with the police). Asante Haughton, who used to live in Regent Park during his teen years, says, “There is just this feeling of danger,” (while dealing with the police).

This at the hands of the guys tooling around in cars with “To Serve and Protect” emblazoned on the doors!

Do they read what’s on their car doors before stepping in?

Hello, anybody listening?

Jamal Hassan, Scarborough