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Councillors’ request that the Ottawa police board pause before approving a budget that several thought was setting the force up for failure was just one of the items highlighting a particularly charged board meeting Monday evening.
The human rights commissioner also urged the board to “step up” and stop denying racial profiling, while the chief of police flippantly thanked the legal director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic for finally engaging in meaningful dialogue with the police service.
The police board, despite dissenting delegations from several city councillors, approved the police budget and directed that it be forwarded to city council. Attending councillors left the meeting when their concerns weren’t heeded by the board. Councillors Riley Brockington, Keith Egli, Diane Deans, Jeff Leiper and Mathieu Fleury all brought concerns to the board, ranging from traffic enforcement to an unprecedented number of shootings in the city and a rarely seen high homicide rate to what they felt is disappearing proactive policing.
Deans pleaded with the board to reflect on whether the budget was even achievable or was “missing the mark” in key areas.
Questions from board members themselves were also met with few answers. Coun. Tim Tierney was left waiting to find out whether a loss of $50,000 in community events would affect things like community barbecues, which have been held in his ward on Jasmine Crescent, which has seen three homicides since 2015.
Board member Suzanne Valiquet asked why there was still money allocated to community policing centre locations when those positions — namely their titles — are being phased out. The force’s answer was that the budget was prepared using the previous deployment format and changes would come.
Another board member, Sandy Smallwood, said he’s very concerned that the force has picked off all the low-hanging fruit to find savings after savings, year after year, and is now headed for disaster.
Deans questioned if the board thinks the police budget, as presented by the force, is in the community’s best interest and asked them to reflect on that before their vote, which was swiftly carried.
Attention then quickly turned to the results of a two-year race data project mandated by a settlement with the Ontario Human Rights Commissions, which were revealed last month.
Data from traffic stops, collected by Ottawa police officers and analyzed by a team of researchers, shows Middle Eastern-looking people are 3.3 times more likely to be pulled over than their percentage of the population, while black-looking people are 2.3 times more likely to be pulled over than their percentage of the population. The project was the result of a racial-profiling complaint lodged by then-18-year-old Chad Aiken, who said he was pulled over because he was black.
Both the researchers that conducted the study and Chief Charles Bordeleau said the results didn’t “prove” racial profiling by officers, which the human rights commissioner took exception to at Monday’s meeting.
“All too often when people like Mr. Aiken come forward to speak about racial discrimination, they are dismissed as being overly sensitive or not having enough proof that their experience is systemic — the ‘a few bad apples’ defence,” Renu Mandhane told the board.
“And that’s why we are disappointed by recent comments that the OPS data does not prove racial profiling. Especially when considered together with the personal accounts that led to the data being collected in the first place, the findings are alarming, are entirely consistent with racial profiling, and cannot and should not be easily explained away.”
Mandhane says she wants to specifically hear from the force that the data is consistent with racial profiling, and says acknowledging it is the first step to fixing it.
Bordeleau said he believes “the service has actually stepped up to the plate and done a lot of things.” He pointed to the settlement-mandated study being the first of its kind in the country.
“I want to make it clear that I’ve never denied the existence of racial profiling. I said before that racial profiling exists in society, it exists in policing and that it has no place in either.”
Mandhane also called on the force and the board to make policies to eliminate discrimination, have independent monitoring and accountability bodies, and discipline officers who engage in discrimination.
Board chair Coun. Eli El-Chantiry told Mandhane that the board has committed “significant” public resources to measure how police treat people of different racial groups.
“The study showed that there was a problem and we have committed to working with our police service to fix it.”
The board also heard from Danardo Jones, legal director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, who also wanted the force to call the results racial profiling and voiced concern about including only data from traffic stops in the study.
Bordeleau said it was “unfortunate that four years ago when we reached out the ACLC, and numerous times since that, that you didn’t take us up on the offer to participate (in the report).”
Monday’s meeting also saw the swearing-in of police board member Coun. Allan Hubley, who replaced Coun. Jan Harder on the civilian oversight body.
The board acknowledged retiring Deputy Chief Ed Keeley, who will be on leave in advance of the end of his contract in January, after a 31-year policing career.
“To all the board, I extend my deepest gratitude. I appreciate the opportunity and confidence instilled upon me. It’s been a tremendous honour and privilege,” Keeley said.
“I’d also like to take the opportunity at this time to thank those who do this difficult job every day, and that’s our members, who I hold in the highest regard both personally and professionally. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working for you. Thank you for all of the work you do every day, for your absolute professionalism and all that you do in keeping all of us safe. I’m forever in your debt.”
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
查看原文...
The human rights commissioner also urged the board to “step up” and stop denying racial profiling, while the chief of police flippantly thanked the legal director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic for finally engaging in meaningful dialogue with the police service.
The police board, despite dissenting delegations from several city councillors, approved the police budget and directed that it be forwarded to city council. Attending councillors left the meeting when their concerns weren’t heeded by the board. Councillors Riley Brockington, Keith Egli, Diane Deans, Jeff Leiper and Mathieu Fleury all brought concerns to the board, ranging from traffic enforcement to an unprecedented number of shootings in the city and a rarely seen high homicide rate to what they felt is disappearing proactive policing.
Deans pleaded with the board to reflect on whether the budget was even achievable or was “missing the mark” in key areas.
Questions from board members themselves were also met with few answers. Coun. Tim Tierney was left waiting to find out whether a loss of $50,000 in community events would affect things like community barbecues, which have been held in his ward on Jasmine Crescent, which has seen three homicides since 2015.
Board member Suzanne Valiquet asked why there was still money allocated to community policing centre locations when those positions — namely their titles — are being phased out. The force’s answer was that the budget was prepared using the previous deployment format and changes would come.
Another board member, Sandy Smallwood, said he’s very concerned that the force has picked off all the low-hanging fruit to find savings after savings, year after year, and is now headed for disaster.
Deans questioned if the board thinks the police budget, as presented by the force, is in the community’s best interest and asked them to reflect on that before their vote, which was swiftly carried.
Attention then quickly turned to the results of a two-year race data project mandated by a settlement with the Ontario Human Rights Commissions, which were revealed last month.
Data from traffic stops, collected by Ottawa police officers and analyzed by a team of researchers, shows Middle Eastern-looking people are 3.3 times more likely to be pulled over than their percentage of the population, while black-looking people are 2.3 times more likely to be pulled over than their percentage of the population. The project was the result of a racial-profiling complaint lodged by then-18-year-old Chad Aiken, who said he was pulled over because he was black.
Both the researchers that conducted the study and Chief Charles Bordeleau said the results didn’t “prove” racial profiling by officers, which the human rights commissioner took exception to at Monday’s meeting.
“All too often when people like Mr. Aiken come forward to speak about racial discrimination, they are dismissed as being overly sensitive or not having enough proof that their experience is systemic — the ‘a few bad apples’ defence,” Renu Mandhane told the board.
“And that’s why we are disappointed by recent comments that the OPS data does not prove racial profiling. Especially when considered together with the personal accounts that led to the data being collected in the first place, the findings are alarming, are entirely consistent with racial profiling, and cannot and should not be easily explained away.”
Mandhane says she wants to specifically hear from the force that the data is consistent with racial profiling, and says acknowledging it is the first step to fixing it.
Bordeleau said he believes “the service has actually stepped up to the plate and done a lot of things.” He pointed to the settlement-mandated study being the first of its kind in the country.
“I want to make it clear that I’ve never denied the existence of racial profiling. I said before that racial profiling exists in society, it exists in policing and that it has no place in either.”
Mandhane also called on the force and the board to make policies to eliminate discrimination, have independent monitoring and accountability bodies, and discipline officers who engage in discrimination.
Board chair Coun. Eli El-Chantiry told Mandhane that the board has committed “significant” public resources to measure how police treat people of different racial groups.
“The study showed that there was a problem and we have committed to working with our police service to fix it.”
The board also heard from Danardo Jones, legal director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, who also wanted the force to call the results racial profiling and voiced concern about including only data from traffic stops in the study.
Bordeleau said it was “unfortunate that four years ago when we reached out the ACLC, and numerous times since that, that you didn’t take us up on the offer to participate (in the report).”
Monday’s meeting also saw the swearing-in of police board member Coun. Allan Hubley, who replaced Coun. Jan Harder on the civilian oversight body.
The board acknowledged retiring Deputy Chief Ed Keeley, who will be on leave in advance of the end of his contract in January, after a 31-year policing career.
“To all the board, I extend my deepest gratitude. I appreciate the opportunity and confidence instilled upon me. It’s been a tremendous honour and privilege,” Keeley said.
“I’d also like to take the opportunity at this time to thank those who do this difficult job every day, and that’s our members, who I hold in the highest regard both personally and professionally. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of working for you. Thank you for all of the work you do every day, for your absolute professionalism and all that you do in keeping all of us safe. I’m forever in your debt.”
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
查看原文...
