Using race-based data, policies tailored to eliminating racial discrimination, a system to monitor police conduct and a multi-year action plan are among dozens of recommendations in an initial plan to address systemic racism and discrimination within Peel Regional Police.The preliminary strategies, presented at the Peel Police Services Board late last month, are set to become the pillars of a legally binding agreement between police, the board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).When the agreement was first announced in 2020, the police force’s commitment to work with the commission to end systemic racism was called “groundbreaking” by then-OHRC chief commissioner Ena Chadha.“It’s been very complex and difficult at times to manage some of the recommendations that were brought forward by the OHRC, in terms of turning them into operational aspects,” Staff Supt. Dirk Niles told the board, adding that the citizen-led Anti-Racism Advisory Committee (ARAC) was instrumental in focusing on “outcomes on how to improve police operations, implement leading practices from the OHRC, so that we can actually start changing some of the elements of the organization.”The plan’s 64 recommendations are “really an important first step in addressing the accountability needed to address racism,” said Alicia Ralph, the co-chair of ARAC, an arms-length public group established to provide advice and feedback on the plan. The work was done in tandem with the OHRC, which ensures “that the recommendations are reflective of what we see as the pressure points,” Ralph said. “This committee is comprised of people who are living, working in the community, so we need it to be responsive to their everyday reality.”The recently released recommendations begin with a call for the acknowledgement of the reality of racial profiling and its impact on trust, and a commitment to ending systemic racism within the police service. Other recommendations include active and regular public engagement, collecting demographic data to identify disparities and organizational change via training, culture and hiring.The announcement of the plan included a glimpse into some of the operational changes already underway within Peel police, such as bias awareness training and trauma-informed approaches.The initial proposals will now be refined and go through legal processes before being accepted as the concrete plan that Peel police will be legally mandated to follow, as per its binding commitment to the OHRC, Ralph said. The recommendations haven’t yet been finalized or formally agreed to by police, the board and the OHRC. The recommendations, which follow upon an initial memorandum of understanding between police and the OHRC in 2020, drew upon more than a year of consultations with the community-led ARAC, Ralph said, “The OHRC is encouraged by Peel Regional Police’s commitment to human rights-centered work in dismantling systemic racism,” stated Patricia DeGuire, the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, adding the work will “enhance accountability and address systemic racism in policing services and employment practices.” Community groups and the public will be invited to share their views to help finalize the binding recommendations later this year, indicated a statement from Peel police.“The recommendations are very thorough, which is part of why it took so long,” said Len Carby, who was appointed to the police services board in April after previously serving as co-chair of ARAC. He’s now the board’s representative on ARAC. “By including ARAC as the community eyes on the project, it ensures that it doesn’t go sit on a shelf,” he said. “ARAC will provide the community accountability piece that will make a difference.”While Peel police had a seat at the table, its voice on the recommendations was “minimal,” Carby said, adding that this “was a complete community effort.”Community activist and ARAC member David Bosveld said the recommendations have the potential to create incremental change. “I have yet to be convinced that reforms will eliminate racial disparities in policing, reduce the violence inflicted by the institution on Black and racialized communities or address the root issues that exist,” he said. “I’m willing to engage in this process and have my mind changed if it turns out that PRP can defy the odds and allow itself to be deeply reformed, eliminate racial disparities and reduce their footprint in areas of the community where they are not particularly effective.”Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in the Peel Region. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic
Using race-based data, policies tailored to eliminating racial discrimination, a system to monitor police conduct and a multi-year action plan are among dozens of recommendations in an initial plan to address systemic racism and discrimination within Peel Regional Police.
The preliminary strategies, presented at the Peel Police Services Board late last month, are set to become the pillars of a legally binding agreement between police, the board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).
When the agreement was first announced in 2020, the police force’s commitment to work with the commission to end systemic racism was called “groundbreaking” by then-OHRC chief commissioner Ena Chadha.
“It’s been very complex and difficult at times to manage some of the recommendations that were brought forward by the OHRC, in terms of turning them into operational aspects,” Staff Supt. Dirk Niles told the board, adding that the citizen-led Anti-Racism Advisory Committee (ARAC) was instrumental in focusing on “outcomes on how to improve police operations, implement leading practices from the OHRC, so that we can actually start changing some of the elements of the organization.”
The plan’s 64 recommendations are “really an important first step in addressing the accountability needed to address racism,” said Alicia Ralph, the co-chair of ARAC, an arms-length public group established to provide advice and feedback on the plan. The work was done in tandem with the OHRC, which ensures “that the recommendations are reflective of what we see as the pressure points,” Ralph said.
“This committee is comprised of people who are living, working in the community, so we need it to be responsive to their everyday reality.”
The recently released recommendations begin with a call for the acknowledgement of the reality of racial profiling and its impact on trust, and a commitment to ending systemic racism within the police service. Other recommendations include active and regular public engagement, collecting demographic data to identify disparities and organizational change via training, culture and hiring.
The announcement of the plan included a glimpse into some of the operational changes already underway within Peel police, such as bias awareness training and trauma-informed approaches.
The initial proposals will now be refined and go through legal processes before being accepted as the concrete plan that Peel police will be legally mandated to follow, as per its binding commitment to the OHRC, Ralph said.
The recommendations haven’t yet been finalized or formally agreed to by police, the board and the OHRC.
The recommendations, which follow upon an initial memorandum of understanding between police and the OHRC in 2020, drew upon more than a year of consultations with the community-led ARAC, Ralph said,
“The OHRC is encouraged by Peel Regional Police’s commitment to human rights-centered work in dismantling systemic racism,” stated Patricia DeGuire, the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, adding the work will “enhance accountability and address systemic racism in policing services and employment practices.”
Community groups and the public will be invited to share their views to help finalize the binding recommendations later this year, indicated a statement from Peel police.
“The recommendations are very thorough, which is part of why it took so long,” said Len Carby, who was appointed to the police services board in April after previously serving as co-chair of ARAC. He’s now the board’s representative on ARAC.
“By including ARAC as the community eyes on the project, it ensures that it doesn’t go sit on a shelf,” he said. “ARAC will provide the community accountability piece that will make a difference.”
While Peel police had a seat at the table, its voice on the recommendations was “minimal,” Carby said, adding that this “was a complete community effort.”
Community activist and ARAC member David Bosveld said the recommendations have the potential to create incremental change.
“I have yet to be convinced that reforms will eliminate racial disparities in policing, reduce the violence inflicted by the institution on Black and racialized communities or address the root issues that exist,” he said. “I’m willing to engage in this process and have my mind changed if it turns out that PRP can defy the odds and allow itself to be deeply reformed, eliminate racial disparities and reduce their footprint in areas of the community where they are not particularly effective.”
Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in the Peel Region. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic
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