After this last election the Harper government stated proudly that it would push an omnibus crime bill through Parliament without delay. The provisions that have led to the most scrutiny are the establishment of mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana offenses, and the reinstatement of post–9/11 anti-terror provisions that allow police to detain individuals for up to three days without charges if they are suspected of terrorist activities. The ramping up of the war on drugs and terrorism has already happened in the United States, and to get a sense of what may be in Canada’s future, we need only look south of the border.
Similar programs have led to the racial profiling of two primary groups in the United States: African Americans and Arab (or Arab-looking) Americans. The most recent case was the removal, interrogation, detention, and strip search of blogger Shoshana Hebshi from Frontier Flight 623 after suspicions were raised about two Indian men she was sitting next to.
It is a well understood fact that relationships between police and black youth are abysmally poor in inner city neighbourhoods where young black men are racially profiled and, as a result, frequently stopped and searched without reasonable suspicion. This deterioration of relations between police and community has made it nearly impossible for police to solve crimes in the inner city, because many residents refuse to assist those they view as their oppressors. Police become aggressive when community members are uncooperative and locals become uncooperative because police become aggressive in a spiral that dooms the community to lawlessness.
To prevent such a breakdown of relations, citizens need to be given a greater role in community policing. The police work for the people — they are sworn to serve and protect, not to harass and intimidate. To ensure this remains the case, citizens need to feel they are an integral part of the law and order process. The way to achieve this is by ensuring that the citizens — not the politicians — have control over the police.
The first step towards this end would be electing police chiefs. A similar system is used in many Western US states, in which local sheriffs are elected. The sheriffs (essentially Canada’s police chiefs) decide how to best to distribute scarce police resources. There are only so many officers on the force and so much time that can be spent cracking down on certain offenses. This reality means that some areas of the law will be prioritized over to the detriment of others. However, the person who currently determines these priorities is an unelected bureaucrat. If local citizens could vote for who the police chiefs, community concerns would determine priority. Say a candidate ran on a platform that puts priority on addressing vandalism and violent crime, while lowering the priority on pursuing marijuana offenses. If the community felt this was a sensible position, they would elect that individual. Unlike a politician, however, the chief would not need to attempt (and possibly fail at) passing a bill that would change the law. Instead, he or she would simply redirect resources and inform officers of the new priorities, ensuring strategies were moulded to fit the specific needs of communities and protecting locals against what they felt were overbearing laws.
The second step, which would be of particular importance in inner city neighbourhoods, would be the annual appraisal of local patrol officers. This could be done in town hall meetings, or by sending out forms for the locals to fill out. Whether police were overbearing or aloof, if the citizens felt certain segments of the community were being unfairly targeted, and other such concerns would be addressed. If major problems arose about the treatment of residents by police (or specific officers), they could be targeted and dealt with swiftly. This would ensure a positive rapport between beat cops and the community and would allow residents to feel more involved with the law and order system, which would make them more likely to assist officers when necessary to help solve crimes.
If we ensure that police are getting their priorities from the citizens whom they are sworn to protect and that bad cops are being regularly removed, it will not only guarantee a smoother functioning of the legal system overall, but will also protect the citizens of Canada from abuses of the law regardless of who is in power on Parliament Hill.
