Hamilton police oversight board wants your opinion on new carding policies

Hamilton's police oversight board is asking for public feedback on its draft policyon carding and street checks.

The board posted its new policy online and is asking for public feedback on rulesabout howpolice collect and retain identifying information when someone is not suspected of a crime. New regulations go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.

The board is interested in hearing from speakers at its next meeting on Nov. 17. You can find moredetails about that below.

'They don't explicitly address the prejudice'

The policies were initially floated publicly in June, and the board was criticized for not seeking input before drafting the policy.

• Hamilton police draft carding policies don't go far enough, say activists

"While these changes are important, they don't explicitly address the prejudice that police have towards racialized communities that have been disproportionately targeted by carding practices," said anti-racism advocate Sarah Adjekum then.

Coun. Matthew Green, who has been an outspoken critic of carding and Hamilton Police's response, went further and said the rollout of the draft policy raisedquestions of how effective police governance is in Hamilton.

He said their silence in public consultation so far had"dismissed the experience" of those who've come forward to share personal impacts of the tactic.

"That board is culturally incompetent. It's unprepared and unequipped to have this conversation," he said in July."That board has no interest in adequately addressing this issue."

What's in the policy?

Thedraft board policies are part of new provincial law meant to clarify the rules for interactions between members of the public and police when police collectidentifying information including but not limited to instances police would've previously considered "carding" or street checks.

The document includes a statementthat the board is committed to enhancing trust in police, and that the collecting of ID in the stops "shall not be" arbitrary or "based upon any racial/biased profiling."

The policies include:

• Requiring police to offer a receipt to someone who is being stopped, including the officer's name.
• Requiring the chief to complete an annual report of how many such interactions took place, including demographics like age and race.
• Data collected in street checks or carding interactions before Jan. 1, 2017 may be kept only under certain conditions like officer discipline matters or for the purposes of an ongoing investigation.

How to have your say

Usually, people who want to speak to the board must follow a process that takes more than a month, but the board is waiving that in this case.

People who wish to speak to the board at its next meeting, Nov. 17,can find aform to fill out here.