SPVM cops stop certain groups more: Report

It’s sadly not surprising that a new report shows that our police force stops black and indigenous people and Arabs, particularly younger male Arabs, far more often than white people. (It’s not clear how they identify or define “Arabs” because there’s a whole continuity of peoples all across the Maghreb and the Middle East right through central Asia who might be roped into that category, but that’s what the item says.)

The investigators still hold off from calling this tendency racial profiling, splitting hairs by calling it systemic bias.

The SPVM is promising to act swiftly. If I had not seen promises made on this matter in several waves already since this blog began in 2001 I’d hail this as an improvement, but, despite many vows by previous police chiefs and mayors, there is still no explicit SPVM policy on good reasons for stopping and questioning individuals who have no warrant out and who are not proximate to the commission of a specific crime.

Update: North-end councillor Abdelhaq Sari was apparently barred by police from attending the media conference about the report. The man is not a journalist and, as a member of Ensemble, may not have been on the list. I don’t think this can be put down to police racism.