To really understand the police budget means starting with the acronyms, not the numbers. HRP—the Halifax Regional Police department—wanted more money in its budget this year. HRP told its governing Board of Police Commissioners, the BOPC, which agreed with the department, so then the BOPC went to its higher power: HRM, the Halifax Regional Municipality. […]
Defund the police
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Want to defund the Halifax police? Participate in this budget discussion tomorrow
Halifax Regional Council will soon vote on its municipal budget for the upcoming year, including what will be allocated to Halifax Regional Police—which at this rate will be $2.9 million more than originally projected for the 2022/23 fiscal year, bringing the total budget to over $90 million. The hike was recommended by the Board of […]
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What defunding the police means in Halifax
On Monday, January 17 the final report from the defining defunding the police subcommittee of the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners was presented at the commissioners’ virtual meeting. The 218-page report is the culmination of months of work by committee members El Jones, Tari Ajadi, Julia Rodgers, Harry Critchley and others. “The report is the […]
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Despite a year of calls to defund the police, council adds $2.7 million to HRP’s budget
If the words of Mike Savage, quoting Joe Biden—”Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value”—are true, what does Halifax Regional Council’s approach to police budgeting say? In a year teeming with calls to defund or at least reallocate police money, and in a meeting where […]
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Halifax’s board of police commissioners OKs committee to look at reimagining policing
With a proposal that insists on all kinds of community engagement—even from those wholly opposed to the idea— Halifax’s board of police commissioners moved the process for community consultation on defunding the police forward this week. After a messy start, the board’s request for a committee made up of community stakeholders to look at a […]
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Nigerians in Halifax call for an end to police brutality in Nigeria
In April 2008, Halifax resident Kunle Fakiyesi left his home in Lagos, Nigeria. He was on his way to pick up his clothes from a tailor when he was stopped by some armed men in a van. They were not in uniforms and he questioned their asking him to get into the vehicle. They pointed […]
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Defunding the police is still a problem for Board of Police Commissioners
Earlier this month, Halifax’s Board of Police Commissioners held a chaotic and tech-troubled virtual meeting—slated to discuss defunding the police, it was mired by a bad definition and hot tempers and only got through one item on the agenda. At the last meeting, a motion from staff outlined a suggested definition for what defunding the police […]
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The charges against Santina Rao have been dropped
A grapefruit, lettuce and two lemons. These are the supposedly concealed items mother of two Santina Rao was accused of smuggling out of the Mumford Road Walmart one Wednesday afternoon last January. A grapefruit, lettuce and two lemons, items worth altogether less than $10, a price she intended to pay but never got the chance […]