Black youth 'see the uniform first, then the officer,' say attendees at carding consultation
Public discussion was held Monday night in Windsor as part of provincial review of street checks
Salem Berhane has been living in Windsor for ten years and has worked a lot with youth in the City of Windsor — especially in the Glengarry neighbourhood.
Berhane also has an 8-year-old son, who was a big reason why she took part in a public consultation that's part of a provincial review on the arbitrary collection of identifying information by police — also known as carding.
"I can understand if it is a youth — of any race — that is in trouble," said Berhane. "But when you are an educated student, when you are doing what you're supposed to be doing, an upstanding citizen... To be afraid of the cops or what not is a problem if you're not doing anything."
More than a year after the province released new rules restricting the practice of arbitrary police street checks, a public consultation around the practice took place in Windsor on Monday night. It's one of 12 planned across the province.
The new policy, released in January 2017, stipulates among other things that officers must inform people that they have a right not to talk to police or produce identification in cases other than arrest, detainment or when a search warrant is executed. The rules don't apply to undercover operations.
The public consultation in Windsor offered a chance for members of the community to share how they feel about the practice with Justice Michael H. Tulloch, who was appointed to the independent review of the new regulations.
Even though we do see black police officers, we see their badge before their skin colour. But to me you see my skin colour before you see my personality or my traits.- Adut Keror
Groups of individuals took part in smaller table discussions, which were then presented to Tulloch and the crowd. The talks gave way to some bigger issues — not just carding.
"Our black youth don't feel comfortable around the cops in uniform — whether the officers are black or not they see they're uniform first and then the officer," said Behrane.
High school students talked about what a perfect police force would look like. They said they wanted to see more officers who "looked like them."
Adut Keror, 23, said that police officers don't take the time to understand the people in her community. She said she grew up in a neighbourhood of many new Canadians who were not always aware of their rights when it came to being stopped by the police.
"I think they should be more involved in the community," she said, adding that there is a systematic distrust between people in her community and police.
Are the same folks that are talking about marginalization and being carded for no reason… is that happening to our youth in our schools?- Julia Burgess, trustee, Greater Essex County District School Board
"Even though we do see black police officers, we see their badge before their skin colour. But to me you see my skin colour before you see my personality or my traits," said Keror.
A few members of the Windsor police also attended the event to listen and take part in discussions. Members of their group said they had an open conversation about the issues at hand.
Julia Burgess, a trustee on the Greater Essex County District School Board, also attended. She said there's reason for school boards to be interested in the issues presented, because it could help identify biases at the elementary school level.
"Are the same folks that are talking about marginalization and being carded for no reason… is that happening to our youth in our schools?" she said. "To be more fair at every level then — this kind of thing is parallel to what we are doing and certainly in sync."
A general feeling from those in attendance was that people, especially youth, needed to be informed and aware of their rights when it comes to dealing with police.
"I just want these young people to be informed, that's my biggest thing," said Mehari Hagos, a youth activist in Windsor.
Many of the young people said they showed up to the discussions because Hagos made sure they were aware of it.
"I want the kids to know just because you live in this neighbourhood you could be targeted," said Hagos, who has had his own experiences being stopped by police.
Talks will continue in London on Wednesday. Consultations have already been held in Thunder Bay, Brampton. Hamilton, Ajax and Markham as well as three in the Toronto area. Two more will be held in Ottawa and Sudbury.