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With no research on its effectiveness, and facing strong evidence that black people are overwhelmingly targeted, Halifax Regional Police still aren’t interested in suspending the practice of “street checks.”
The idea for a moratorium on the controversial tactic was made by Sylvia Parris—the lone African-Nova Scotian representative on Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners—during a meeting Monday afternoon to discuss more than a decade of recently released data that shows black Haligonians are three times more likely than white individuals to be stopped by Halifax Regional Police (HRP).
Young, black males “were the most disproportionately over-represented in the data” according to the department’s research coordinator, Chris Giacomantonio. In total, African Nova Scotians accounted for over 11 percent of individuals stopped by police, despite being only 3.6 percent of the municipality’s population. Many of those checked had no prior criminal charges, though they were often “known to police.”
“There is clear evidence that racial profiling is endemic in the strategies and practices used by law enforcement,” said Parris, quoting findings from the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent after its cross-Canada mission last year.
That group’s recommendations included ending “carding” and street checks. Parris asked if Halifax’s police department would consider halting the practice of street checks until “we feel like we’re assured that it can firmly be said that it’s not race-based.”
“I don’t think so, at this point,” answered chief Jean-Michel Blais. “We will continue to talk to people. This is a very important part of our police work.”
A “street check” is any time an officer visually identifies a known individual or—much more often—asks someone in a public place what they’re doing or where they’re going. According to deputy chief Bill Moore, the public expects police officers to be out having those conversations in a respectful way, free of any overt or subconscious bias. Suspending street checks, he says, could be dangerous.
“My question would be, what would be the potential impact for officers not interacting with people in the middle of the night?“ said Moore. “I’m not trying to bolster our position on this, but let’s make good decisions based on good evidence.”
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Halifax police have been collecting data on the racial identities of those they stop and talk to since 2005, but no one ever bothered to analyze the data until CBC reporters asked for it under a freedom of information request last fall. The results of that exclusive investigation were published Monday morning, hours before HRP issued a press release containing the same information.
“When the numbers came in, quite frankly, I didn’t think they’d come in like that,” Moore told reporters after Monday’s meeting. “We probably should have been running these reports before. But now that we’ve ran them—now that we know—I expect you’re going to see a lot more work in this area.”
The results don’t come as much of a surprise to African Nova Scotians, though. Parris told the board of commissioners on Monday that her own son has been stopped by police on the street before and asked “Where are you going?”
An investigation by The Coast in 2015 found that on average Halifax Regional Police issued twice as many tickets and 30 percent more summary charges for black residents of Halifax as white individuals in the same four-year period. That same year, an article in the Globe and Mail determined street checks were happening far more often per capita in Halifax than in larger cities like Toronto.
Speaking to The Coast in 2015, police diversity equity coordinator Shaun Carvery said when someone’s stopped by HRP it can feel like racial profiling, even if the officer involved wasn’t consciously acting on prejudice.
“In reality, if you don’t have a good reason for stopping somebody, then we’re acting upon our own biases,” Carvery said.
Giacomantonio will now go back and study the data more thoroughly, in an effort to determine whether the street checks have had a positive impact on neighbourhood safety. He’ll also be trying to conclusively figure out what’s contributing to the overrepresentation of black men stopped by Halifax police, something he says could include a wide range of factors beyond anything as seemingly obvious as race.
“It could be where we put our people; what times of things we put foot patrol out for; what types of things we’re asking people to look for,” says Giacomantonio. 
“The amount of this that’s down to a problematic bias versus something that’s in a wider system of factors is still a very open question.”
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This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2017.
You can’t just say 11% of the people you stopped are African but they’re 3.6% of the population therefore there is racial bias.
Those statistics are meaningless unless they also consider when and where they are stopping people,and what the demographics are of the people in that area in that place and time are.
If cops are out stopping people randomly between the hours of midnight and 4am, and Africans happen to represent 11% of the population outdoors at that time, then there is in fact no bias.
Let the statisticians draw conclusions from the data, not reporters.
You mean to say that the HRPD are not taking a serious look at Mark Fuhrman, Trump supporters, Russian hackers or tha D@l Sch**l of D#nt!stry to solve our recent spate of homicides?
Racism.
Obviously.
If “disproportionately over-represented in the data” implies racism, then males disproportionately over-represented in prison implies sexism…
Some public education would have been good here to let people know that they don’t have to answer any questions if a cop asks, if they aren’t legally detained. The thing to do if a cop asks you something is to as “am I being detained”? If the answer is no then walk away.
3.6 % of the population represents what percentage of violence, theft and homicides?
maybe the police should just stop checking their comings and goings. it would be best for society and the thugs.
It’s not that easy Johnvg. Walk away and you can be legally detained or arrested.
What is the breakdown of stops between males and females regardless of race?
interesting bad dog.
I’m betting 90:10 but am doubtful that they ‘keep those records’.
So, let me get this straight… Police would like us to believe that over the last 150 years of policing in Canada, there is no better way of patrolling a neighborhood than harassing citizens, and coercing their personal information to be filed away in a “suspicious persons” database? That doesn’t say much for our police professionals, now does it. The answer to all police problems can only be solved by larger, more powerful weaponry, LAVs and other surplus military tactical gear, stealing drugs and money from their evidence lockers, brandishing assault weapons at rememberance day services, and bullying citizens. Just who will save us from police, aggressively attacking our rights and freedoms like they mean nothing?
All hail our “heros” in uniform, or they’ll officially detain you!!!
“Some public education would have been good here to let people know that they don’t have to answer any questions if a cop asks, if they aren’t legally detained. The thing to do if a cop asks you something is to as “am I being detained”? If the answer is no then walk away.”
Great idea if only cops weren’t so crooked. Now they just chase you down,beat on you and make it as if “you ran from police” in order to justify that they used you to practice their new Mixed Martial Arts move they picked up from watching UFC. Black,White Guy……Yeah try that one and see what happens. In that scenario,trying that which is no doubt “your rights”…..will cause more problems and that in itself is just sad.
The general Public no matter what race a person is….does not trust police at all and that is the police fault for their own ATTITUDES. catch my drift JohnG?
@JohnvG, I respect that position but I think you have a different perspective as an older and generally respectable looking white man. As a young person who doesn’t always “look” respectable (aka completely average), the handful of times I’ve been stopped for something like this made me feel targeted, and the imbalance of power between police and citizen makes me feel as though I can’t say no. Police are carrying weapons that are capable of killing, and carry the trust of the justice system to use them with a high likelihood of no consequences. I know that I have the right to not answer questions, but refusal is met with additional suspicion and sometimes aggression instead of understanding. As a citizen it is none of the state’s business where I am going or what I am doing so long as I have not committed a crime and it is wrong for police to be nosing into a citizens business without evidence of a crime. Every encounter with police makes me feel powerless and a little violated (not trying to be dramatic, but I don’t have a better word).
To be meaningful, this data needs to be correlated with the neighbourhoods where police are doing street checks and what the ethnic distribution of people on the street is.
However, my impression is that teenage men, and especially young teenage black men are obviously under suspicion in our society. Just look at 2 or 3 young black dudes walking down a street and see how people turn away or cross the street to avoid them.
From the police perspective, I think most teenagers stereotype the police based on what they see in social media and on TV. This needs to be addressed so that police are not viewed with suspicion, seen as oppressors or the enemy.
@ andrew. and people are rightly so to be afraid and concerned when those 2-3 or more are walking towards you around here.
look at all the swarmings. that has taken place around here. most of the assaults in halifax water front and on the darkside. apparently i wasn’t going fast enough on the mackay bridge when one of those nice young boys pulled up and pointed his finger and made a shooting gesture at me and my family.
why chance it with your health or life just to be politically correct
Just out of curiosity, are all the comments on here suggesting that there’s no way racism exists in Halifax? That it’s a physical impossibility?
Street checks are needed, I have a sleeping disorder so I’m awake at night sometimes. When I watch some of the clowns walking down the side walk at 2am, I wonder, what are you doing up at this time, you don’t live on my street, you are not dressed for work, and you look, well just plain suspicious. The place, the attire, the time all factor in. Sorry to offend but its true.
I’d say several of the comments here demonstrate why police feel empowered to stop people for no good reason, other than what they look like or where they are. As a professional who lived, and worked in a, predominantly, low-income area, police stopped me several times, to ask questions for no apparent reason and I observed this being done to others, countless time. A waste of resources, just plain bad policing, and causes more acrimony than it’s worth, which is why it’s being, severely limited, or banned in most jurisdictions. Our rights guaranteed by the Charter are more than an annoyance to too many cops.