Fredericton looks into how city policies affect people of colour

The City of Fredericton has begun work on a report into how its policies and operations are affecting people of colour in the city. 

"We are looking at what other cities are doing and how they're responding," said the city's chief administrative officer, Chris MacPherson. "And I know the police are also looking at — and the city, for that matter — at our current policies, operational strategies.

"I want to make sure council knew that we had started the work. But it will take some time and we certainly want to do it properly." 

The report will include:

• An inventory of current policies and operational strategies at the city and within the Fredericton Police Force. 
• A study on best practices for a city of Fredericton's size across North America. 
• A look at the makeup of other cities' budgets 
• How other municipal police forces include social safety within the organization

The development comes two weeks after Black Lives Matter made requests to council to have the city policies — especially around police budgeting and transparency — reviewed. 

At the time, Husoni Raymond, who represented BLM Fredericton, called on the city to hold a public forum on policing and community safety. He also highlighted the lack of transparency in police operations and budgeting as one of the problems in the force. 

MacPherson said a public forum may not be possible during the COVID-19 pandemic but the city is hoping to open up the conversation online.

Police Chief Roger Brown said this is an opportunity to ensure police services in Fredericton meet the needs of the city. 

"We need to look at the makeup of our city and we need to provide a service that is tailored to that as closely as possible."

Brown said as policing issues become more complicated there is a need to bring in other organizations.

"We're trying to figure out how to work closer with other agencies who have a different skill set than we do. More in particular is on the, you know, on the social side, dealing with youth at risk, mental health, addictions, homelessness, intimate partner violence, those types of issues."

Brown said he's also working with other chiefs across the country to come up with solutions to some of those problems.

MacPherson said the report will likely be ready early next year.