'Unjustifiable': Human Rights Commission slams Hamilton police on carding

The head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission said Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire'sdescription of his policing approach on street checks and cardingis "atextbook description of racial profiling."

It is not discretion in action it is aracially-motivated round-up.- Ruth Goba, interim chief commissioner,Ontario Human Rights Commission

"Hamilton police chief Glenn De Caire's position on carding and street checks contains afundamental and significant error," writes Ruth Goba, interim chief commissioner at the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

She was responding to De Caire's submission to the provincial Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Serviceson carding reforms. In it, DeCaireuses the example of a day timegunfight in May between two black males to outline police response.

"When we send officers to this area in response to the shooting, we are going tobe stopping, talking and investigating young black males," he wrote."We are going to bestopping and talking to as many people as possible because we do not knowwho might be a suspect, person of interest, victim, witness or a person who maywish to be a confidential informant. We don't know until we gather theinformation."

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'This is a textbook description of racial profiling'

The commission takes issue with DeCaire'sapproach.

"Anyone who happens to be a 'young black male'is going to be stopped, withoutevidence of wrongdoing, without even a suspicion of wrongdoing; they are to bestopped and questioned and information about them added to a police database solelybecause they are young Black males," Goba writes.

"This is a textbook description of racial profiling,"Gobasaid."It is not discretion in action it is aracially-motivated round-up."

The commission submitted the responseas a letter to theHamilton Spectator and shared a copy with CBC Hamilton.

Both letters were writtenbefore MinisterYasirNaqvilaid out new draftregulations Wednesdaygoverning what he called "voluntary interactions" with the police.

De Cairecited the Human Rights Commission in his letter, touting its support for the importance of officer discretion.

"We agree that discretion isimportant vitally so," Goba said. "But we have always been clear: officer discretion must beinformed and guided to prevent racial profiling and discretionary decisions that areinformed by racial bias should lead to officer discipline."

De Caire does say in his letter, and repeatedly in public remarks, that police should not activate any policing activity based on race, and that "discretion is a major component of applying the lawin a fair, consistent and bias free manner and must never be exercised to favour or totarget an individual or group."

Goba's letter cites an example of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruling on a case in Toronto in which it found the policing approach "unjustifiable." In that case,"an officer investigating a gun-related incidentinvolving a Black male suspect driving a black sports car decided to follow the man simply because he was a young Black man driving alone in a black BMW."

The HRTOfound that if the suspect had been a Caucasian man in the same circumstances, with noother defining characteristics, and with as little information available about the car anddirection of travel, the officer would probably not have chosen to investigate," she said.

De Caire said after the minister's announcement Wednesday that the service will continue its "work to prevent and solve crime as we balance the rights of individuals in line with the expectations of the public regarding their safety."