REBUILDING THE TRUST

The Ottawa Police Service should be congratulated for following
through on a recommendation by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal to
produce a policy on racial profiling.

According to the new policy, "A police officer shall not, in the
absence of a reasonable and racially neutral explanation, exercise a
statutory power such as the power to detain a motor vehicle under the
Ontario Highway Traffic Act as a pretext to conduct a criminal
investigation of a racialized individual." The officer must have good
reason to think the individual may have committed a crime.

It's hard not to agree with this, although one would hope it would
apply to the non-"racialized" folks among us as well.

The policy might seem straightforward, but a handful of incidents in
Ottawa suggest a refresher was in order, as was the case recently for
cellblock strip searches. Following the emergence last fall of
shocking video of Stacy Bonds having her clothes cut off in police
custody, the service implemented sweeping reforms, particularly to do
with policies and training regarding the proper use of strip searches.

Staff Sgt. John Medeiros told the Citizen that incidents of racial
profiling are frequently inadvertent, that race might be unconsciously
factored into an assessment of a potential suspect rather than a
result of overt prejudice. This is likely true. Also, an experienced
police officer no doubt develops a nose for criminal activity based
not on any particular suspicious action but the police sense developed
over many years on the street.

But this is precisely what makes a clear policy and the training
efforts around it so vital. Members of minority communities report
feeling singled out by police, creating an atmosphere of distrust that
is bad for the community and the police service alike. It may cause
members of the community to see profiling where it is not. It may
cause officers to second guess themselves when confronted with a
legitimate suspect. Rebuilding that trust will take work on the part
of all parties and to his credit Medeiros has already been in touch
with a number of community leaders to discuss the new policy.

Some would note that on occasion drugs or weapons are found when
police pull over a vehicle based on an instinctual suspicion about the
driver, or even outright racial profiling. But this is no
justification for the practice. If the driver of a car is in
possession of drugs but does nothing to justify an interaction with
police, he or she gets to go free, plain and simple. This is a small
price to pay for the rest of us to live in a free and equal society,
where we need not fear arbitrary detention by police.