Less carding by ACTION team last year: report
Fewer people stopped, arrested and charged
Last year, members of the high-profile Hamilton police ACTION unit carded people just six times, down from a high of more than 4,800 “street checks” in 2012 and 43 instances of carding in 2015.
Also down are the value of drugs seized, number of guns seized, number of arrests and criminal charges laid, according to an annual report going to the police board Friday.
So with fewer stops and arrests, what did officers from the ACTION (Addressing Crime Trends in Our Neighbourhood) unit spend more time doing last year?
That same report shows an increase in the number of provincial offences tickets issued (3,627) and building or premise checks (9,170).
ACTION officers are also frequently
used to canvass after major crimes — something auxiliary officers do in some other jurisdictions.
The unit has been controversial since its inception in 2010, in part for diverting officers who some felt would be more useful on front-line patrol.
Wearing bright yellow jackets, patrolling on bike or by foot, they are intended to be a highly visible and spend most of their time in designated quadrants largely downtown, where they are notably popular among business owners.
Yet, according to the annual report, violent crime increased in 2016 over the previous year in all of the four major quadrants ACTION patrols, largely because of an increase in weapons offences.
Police across the city are dealing with an increase in gun crime and violent home invasions that the service has said are largely tied to the illegal drug trade.
Overall violent crime rates are still lower than 2009, the report says.
Hamilton police generally do not comment on reports before they are presented at the board and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The ACTION unit used to track street checks — when police stop people who are not suspected of a crime — more informally. In 2014, the service started tracking the number of street check cards (a specific card with questions used in carding) issued by ACTION officers, contributing to a statistical drop from 3,684 “street checks” in 2013 to 192 in 2014.
However, the six recorded last year is an all-time low.
Carding has been widely criticized for disproportionately targeting visible minorities, leading the province to make changes that came into effect in January. These changes include requiring officers to inform the people they do not have to talk to police and how to complain to Ontario’s police watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).
This has had a cooling effect on officers’ willingness to stop people, police insiders say.
Bruce Chapman, president of the Police Association of Ontario (PAO), said carding numbers are down across the province, in part because of what he believes is a fear among officers that they may face unfair complaints.
The numbers in Hamilton’s ACTION report illustrate “a good example” of that, he said. The association maintains that lawful street checks are a valuable tool in policing and that there were already laws in place to deal with unreasonable stops.
Chapman welcomes the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services announcement last week that Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch has been asked to conduct an independent review of carding.
Hamilton Police Association president Clint Twolan said “the numbers aren’t surprising” because of the changes to carding legislation.
Twolan questioned whether the drop in seizures and arrests could also be tied to fewer street checks. For instance, he said street checks are often how officers used to catch people breaching probation, parole or bail conditions.
Twolan says he’d like to see more front-line officers, but adds that it’s a tough question to answer what should happen with the ACTION unit.
“Is current mandate is effective? Or (is) there is a better use for them?”
Part of the controversy around ACTION has also been its apparent focus on giving out tickets to homeless or marginalized people downtown. In May, four officers were found not guilty of obstructing justice and fabricating evidence in relation to allegations they wrote fake tickets targeting vulnerable people. A fifth officer is yet to stand trial.
During the ruling, Ontario Court Justice Pamela Borghesan said she was suspicious about some of the tickets, but ultimately found the prosecution did not prove its case.
She also noted the “futility” of repeatedly ticketing the same vulnerable people, who court heard have no means or desire to pay tickets. Court also heard that ACTION officers were expected to hand out at least 100 tickets a year.
Defence lawyers for the officers echoed the judge’s comments outside court, including Gary Clewley, who called the ACTION strategy a “Band-Aid that got peeled back.”
In an interview with The Spectator in April, police community mobilization division Supt. Mike Worster said there are no plans to change ACTION.
He said officers are educated about exercising discretion when ticketing, as there is no point in ticketing the same person over and over.
Under Worster’s direction, the unit has been more frequently leaving its quadrants and deploying, when needed, to other areas. In particular, he said ACTION officers are frequently called upon to canvass neighbourhoods after major crimes.