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 […]
Police
Posted inNews + Opinion
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 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
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 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
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 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Half of the city’s highest-paid staff work for Halifax Regional Police
Calls are being made across North America to reduce or redirect police budgets in the wake of another killing of an African-American man by police in the US. But the crime against George Floyd is far from the only reason citizens are ready to change the status quo—here in the Maritimes, a police officer responding […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Regional Police review suggests reorganization, more civilian input
It’s time for a little re-organizing at Halifax Police Headquarters now that regional council has approved a slew of recommendations designed to amp up the “effectiveness and efficiencies” of policing in HRM, including new roles for civilians. In November 2019, Vancouver-based Perivale and Taylor Consulting prepared a $195,000 report on the internal workings of Halifax’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Radical Imagination project looks for new spot to screen after Central Library clash
Update July 5: After discussion with Åsa Kachan, CEO of Halifax Public Libraries, The Radical Imagination Project screenings will take place in the Halifax Central Library, without a presentation from HRP as previously requested. The Radical Imagination Project has screened films and hosted discussions about radical ideas that emerge from social change and movements at the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Radical Imagination project looks for new spot to screen after clash with Library
The Radical Imagination Project has screened films and hosted discussions about radical ideas that emerge from social change and movements at the Halifax Central Library for the past four-and-a-half years. But it won’t be returning this fall, according to Alex Khasnabish, director of the project and professor of sociology and anthropology at Mount Saint Vincent […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRP and RCMP say ‘not yet’ to Board of Police Commissioners apology request
Slow and steady appears to be the tactic taken by those in power since Scot Wortley’s street check report was released in March. At Monday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, interim police chief Robin McNeil explained why the HRP won’t be apologizing just yet for the harm caused by street checks, saying it would be […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax announces Dan Kinsella as next regional police chief
T he long-awaited replacement for retired regional police chief Jean-Michel Blais will be Dan Kinsella. Currently the deputy chief of operations for the Hamilton Police Services, Kinsella doesn’t officially start until July 1. Residents will have to wait and see if he’s the future face of change in the Halifax police force. “He just rose […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Police swings its Big Truck Energy
Halifax Regional Police wants to add a new tool to its belt. At the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Monday, HRP’s inspector Jim Butler quickly made the case for needing an armoured rescue vehicle (ARV) added to the HRP’s fleet. He said an ARV would give officers the ability to perform duties during high-risk […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Street check report confirms what Black Haligonians have known for years
Time and time again the stories are told, and time and time again no change has come. For years, Nova Scotia’s Black community has been recounting stories of pain, frustration and fear in its interactions with police. Now, with the release of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission’s report on street checks, African Nova Scotians […]
