So the Toronto Police Association wants readers of the Toronto Star to cancel their subscriptions. This weekend, the paper ran a series of investigative articles (Oct. 19 & 20) arguing that Toronto police records indicate clear biases against the black community. The statistics, covering everything from traffic charges to comparisons of the rates at which members of different ethnic backgrounds are granted bail, were presented alongside personal anecdotes of police discrimination and commentary from local experts. The argument is compelling, and it’s certainly clear that black Torontonians are treated differently from whites.
The response from the police was predictable. Police Chief Julian Fantino denied that there was a racism problem within the police, and maintained that the Toronto Police don’t engage in “racial profiling.” In fact, the Toronto police have a policy against analyzing their own records on the basis of race, to prevent such a problem. The Star, having obtained the police records through the Freedom of Information Act, was not limited in this way, and was thus free to check for racial biases.
Fantino’s response was logical and understandable, until he angrily cut short an interview with Star reporters last Friday, after being presented with full documentation of their findings. A memo denouncing the Star and its analysis was issued to the police force shortly thereafter. By Tuesday, Craig Bromell of the Toronto Police Association had publicly asked “that all citizens cancel their subscriptions to the Toronto Star to send the clear message that principles are more important than profits,” and had announced their plans to sue. This is absolutely frightening.
Instead of recognizing there may be a problem and allowing an independent and moderated review, the Toronto Police Association has asked people to stop listening. Apparently, Bromell doesn’t want people to make up their own minds—he would rather silence people he doesn’t agree with.
Nothing in the Star articles suggests the cops are overtly racist. Most of this argument has focussed on the concept of racial profiling (a phrase rarely heard before 9/11), as if the Star’s articles implied that the police have a policy of discrimination. This idea is ludicrous, but it’s not far-fetched to imagine that personal biases may exist within a minority of the police force, resulting the skewed treatment of black Torontonians. Even this may be untrue, but certainly a mature response by the police association would have been to calmly consider allowing an independent review of the matter, rather than asking people to ignore what may be a real problem.
