B.C.含羞草研究社檚 human rights commissioner is launching an inquiry into police use of force against racialized people and people with mental health issues.
The Office of the Human Rights Commissioner announced the inquiry Tuesday (Jan. 30), which is aimed at quantifying the use of force by police agencies in B.C. The inquiry will build on the commissioner含羞草研究社檚 2021 report 含羞草研究社淓quity is Safer含羞草研究社� that revealed a disturbing pattern of discrimination in policing in the province.
含羞草研究社淭here is a direct connection between equity and safety. We need police that exercise non-biased decision-making and also that we eradicate systemic discrimination from policing more generally. That will actually result in safer communities,含羞草研究社� commissioner Kasari Govender told Black Press Media.
She added the inquiry含羞草研究社檚 aim is to better understand who is at the receiving end of use of force by police, specifically looking at demographic data and whether they can understand racial data from that.
含羞草研究社淎ny gaps that we identify in that data, may as well be recommended that they collect that information in the future,含羞草研究社� she told Black Press Media Tuesday.
The 2021 report used an expert analysis of data from five police jurisdictions 含羞草研究社� the Vancouver and Nelson police departments and the Surrey, Duncan and Prince George RCMP detachments 含羞草研究社� to show how Indigenous and Black people are 含羞草研究社渆ither grossly or significantly over-represented in arrest and chargeable incident statistics.含羞草研究社� It also found that a great deal of police activity involves people experiencing mental health issues, 含羞草研究社渋n which Indigenous, Black and Arab/West Asian people are also significantly over-represented.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淓quity is Safer含羞草研究社� was developed as a submission to the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act, which included several recommendations to the provincial government in April 2021. The first reforms from the committee are set to be discussed this spring after a delay in fall of 2023.
Govender said earlier work, and from listening to racialized people from across B.C, shows that potential disparities in policing demand monitoring and action.
含羞草研究社淭his (inquiry) adds an additional area of police activity, which is use of force. It looks at a different kind of policing activity, which is one of the most significant pieces of it. But it also really shifts some of the focus onto mental health, in particular, potentially a different proportion of the use of force against public mental health concerns.含羞草研究社�
The commissioner requested the information from B.C.含羞草研究社檚 Public Safety Ministry, and she said her office has received all of the information requests. The ministry receives annual reports on use of force from police departments in B.C.
Govender含羞草研究社檚 office will analyze the data to 含羞草研究社渄etermine whether it shows any disproportionate impacts to racialized persons or persons with mental health issues.含羞草研究社� She said she hopes to present a report by the end of the year or in early 2025.
含羞草研究社淚 anticipate making quite a targeted report with very practical recommendations as much as possible to allow the ministry or police to really make change, to really give them guidance on how to create change.含羞草研究社�
Black Press Media has reached out to the Public Safety Ministry for comment.
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含羞草研究社� With a file from Tyler Harper
