'There's a big hole in trust': report on police and racial bias
Some people in Winnipeg's core area are "more afraid of the police than of crime," according to a report released Thursday by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission.
The report summarizes the results of four consultation meetings with what the commission calls "racialized" groups in central Winnipeg about perceptions of bias in police services.
'We don't need more policing, we need peacekeeping.' —Consultation participant
Commission chairman Jerry Woods said the storiesheard were compelling and heartbreaking, and highlighted the strained relationship between Winnipeg police and visible minority communities.
Aboriginal and black people told the commission stories about abuse, both physical and sexual, at the hands of police officers. They also described systemic racial bias in the police service.
"People were saying things like, 'There's a big hole in trust,'" he said.
"They feel the police need retraining. They don't believe that it's necessary to have more police, but they need to fix their attitude. And people are judged by their race."
The report quotes one participant as saying: "In this neighbourhood, the community is more afraid of police than of crime."
Said another: "Young Africans are being treated brutally… When three or four Sudanese boys walk together down the street, the police ambush them and try to intimidate them."
"We don't need more policing, we need peacekeeping, where police come into the community and become part of it," said a third.
Other participants reported instances of so-called "starlight tours," some involving sexual assaults, in whichpolice officers drove them to distant areas of the cityand left them to walk home.
The committee working on the project did not investigate the stories they were told, nor did the report identify the individuals who made the comments.
| Racism and Winnipeg Police |
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| In a telephone poll commissioned by CBC News in February 2006, 16 per cent ofpeople in visible minority groupsand 15 per cent of aboriginal people said they had been treated unfairly by a Winnipeg police officer because oftheir race. One per cent of respondents who said they were white-skinned reported such treatment. Unfair treatment was reported mostly in the coreof the city, with almost one in 10 people there saying police had treated them badly. |
Woods believes most officers are sensitive to the needs of visible minorities, but said the stories the commission heard show some officers are biased.
The report suggests police need more anti-racism education and cross-cultural training, and emphasizes a need for community-based policing and a more effective complaints process.
'Serious criminal conduct'
Acting deputy police chief Doug Webster, who met with the report's authors Thursday to discuss the report, said he was shocked by some of its contents— but the only way the police can deal with the situation is if formal complaints are filed, he said.
"What I was surprised at was some of those anecdotal stories that are certainly indicating serious criminal conduct, and without the opportunity to investigate and to validate those things, it's very difficult to determine how to accept it," he said.
While a new police chief— Keith McCaskill— will be installed next week, Webster said he will press for more bias-free policing.
McCaskill spent more than 29 years on the Winnipeg force before leaving two years ago to co-ordinate aboriginal and municipal law enforcement with the provincial government.