Lawyerappeals police ‘carding’ to commission

Alocal lawyer challenging how police handle street-level interviews known as “carding” has filed an appeal with the Lethbridge Police Commission over what she feels is an inadequate response to the issue from LPS. Miranda Hlady has been speaking publicly about the use of street checks by LPS as a data-collection and crime-fighting tool.

On Wednesday, Hlady said the appeal was made because police failed to provide answers to some specific questions she had regarding the practice.

“The appeal is largely because we feel that, in terms of the actual response we received to our complaint, they didn’t address certain key issues,” she said. “And the solutions they provided were not adequate.” Those specific concerns include: • That LPS has failed to address her concerns that carding may be illegal and a form of arbitrary detention;

• That LPS has failed to explain how it was determined that 31 charges had resulted from more than 1,000 street check cards completed in 2016, or provide information on the nature of the charges or resolution which occurred;

• Police Chief Rob Davis describing street checks as an integral part of policing in a Lethbridge Herald comment article, though Hlady says police have failed to provide a reason why they are “integral”;

• Why police fail to inform people they do not have to speak to an officer before soliciting information from them in a carding situation;

• That LPS has failed to address the use of “racist and antiquated language” in 2016 in regards to the term “Oriental”;

• LPS explaining why they failed to record signatures in more than 40 per cent of their cards in 2016, but not why LPS continues to retain the information collected; and

• Repeated references to a review of the practice of street checks and new policies surrounding the issue, but that information has not been provided to the public.

“We were expecting to get an actual review of the practice of carding, and we were expecting to get policies from the police regarding what the policies currently were, and what was in the works moving forward,” said Hlady.

What she actually received, after eight months, was a three-page letter stating LPS planned on making policy changes and that a review had been done.

“We haven’t actually seen any of those documents,” said Hlady.

She said she has filed a FOIP request for those documents but there has been no response at this time. “I would anticipate we will — some day,” she said. Hlady said one option for the commission could be to create a committee of three people in order to work on the issue.

“I think that might actually be the direction I’d like to see this go in,” she said. “I think we have some very reasonable questions about the practice of carding and street checks, as well as the complaint process, and what actually has been happening over the last nine months.

“It would be helpful if the police commission would start addressing these complaints and concerns.”

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