Repeated street checks on people undercut Charter freedoms: activists

Chief, activists respond to data revealing that many people are carded more than once in a year and visible minorities and aboriginal people are the ones who face the most repeat stops.

Chief: Multiple street checks may prove to be entirely justifiable stops by our officers

Kelly Bennett CBC News Posted: Nov 20, 2015 5:45 AM EST | Last Updated: November 20, 2015

Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire says a deeper look at individual cases may show justifiable reasons for people to be carded multiple times in a year. (Adam Carter/CBC)

Chief Glenn De Caire said Thursday he has not had the chance to review the data from his force that CBC Hamilton obtained this week showing that the vast majority of people street checked more than once in a year are visible minorities and aboriginal people.

I don't know why someone would be stopped 14 times in a year.- Desmond Cole

The numbers showed that of 134 people who've been stopped three or more timesin the same year in street checks, all but eight of them were visible minorities andaboriginal people.

In one example, the same aboriginal woman was street checked 14 times in 2012. One blackman was stopped 13 times in 2013.

Theinformation was released to CBC Hamilton under a Freedom of Information request.

Coun. Terry Whitehead read a statistic from the article to the chief at the service'soversight board meeting on Thursday and said he wanted to give the chief anopportunity to respond:

"Of the 46 people stopped more than five times in one year in street checks, 44 ofthem were recorded in the police database as visible minorities, either black,aboriginal, "Mid East" or "S. Asian/E. Indian."

Chief: I haven't seen the data

De Caire said he hadn't seen the FOI request or the data that was released.

Hereiterated the service's policies that officers do not stop people based on their raceand said he will respond and comply with the public safety minister's draft regulations for the practice.

"I've seen the article, but I haven't seen the particulars," De Caire said.

"Going back,we may have the opportunity to look at every single one of those to find out theywere entirely justifiable stops by our officers. I haven't seen that data."

Journalist Desmond Cole wrote in Toronto life about his experience of being repeatedly questioned by police. 'This hasn't happened to be one time," he told Metro Morning in April. "It's a pattern."

Journalistand anti-carding activistDesmondCole said interactions where the same person isstopped and questioned without having done something wrong, as has happened to him, istroubling.

"I don't know why someone would be stopped 14 times in a year," Cole said, referring tothe Hamilton numbers. "And not just talk to them but document thesituation. What do they want that information for?"

Whitehead said after the meeting that the revelations about the people stoppedmultiple times "isn't reflecting what we've been told" by police about the impacts ofthe Hamilton street check practice.

"That concerns me and I need more explanationon that," Whitehead said.

'You can't stop people based on the fact that you think theymay be involved in a future offence'

The experience of being stopped by the police more than once for not doinganything wrong can be "damaging," said Cole, whose account of being stopped 50times by Toronto and other police forces catalyzed a discussion about the carding/street check practice in that city and around the province.

"It's confusing," Cole said. "It can be very scary."

That intimidation could be what some of the individuals are feeling in Hamiltonwho've been street checked multiple times in one year, Cole said.

"This person wasn't necessarily breaking any law," Cole said. "But we know wherethey were, what they were wearing, we know who they are, who they were with."

Cole responded to a comment that De Caire made on talk radio on Wednesday, thatthe street check practice is vital because "at the time you're doing [a street check],you have no idea that you're actually speaking to a person who later will facecharges of murder."

Cole said that suggests the police would rather have a file on everyone'swhereabouts.

"Police are essentially saying if they could have one on everyone they would," Colesaid.

"That would mean that we no longer live in a free society. And I would argue that we don't live in a free society anyway, based on the numbers."

Knia Singh, a law student who has filed a Charter challenge on the carding practicein Toronto, said police should stop people based on "reasonable suspicion," groundsthat have been well-defined in case law.

"You can't stop people based on the fact that you think they may be involved in afuture offence," he said. "That is beyond textbook racial profiling, that is Orwelliancontrol over the public and reminiscent of the 'Minority Report'."

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