Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has suspended the practice of carding until further notice.
The top cop's spokesperson Mark Pugash confirmed the indefinite suspension on Tuesday. He said the directive was issued on Jan. 1. through a routine order.
The practice, which allows officers to stop and document people on the street, has been widely criticized.
At a police board meeting in December, Mayor John Tory called the practice "corrosive."
His comments came after a study conducted by non-profit group LogicalOutcome suggested that some officers in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue area were ignoring the police board’s revised carding policy. It found that of the 404 people who participated in the survey, 137 of them reported being carded.
These findings suggest "widespread non-compliance" with police-carding rules, Neil Price, executive director of Logical Outcomes, said in the report.
According to boards' rules that were adopted in April 2014, police officers can only card an individual if they have a valid public safety concern.
LogicalOutcomes' study was presented to the Toronto Police Services Board in November.
Blair, however, has questioned the study. He previously told reporters while he doesn't question the "lived experienced" of those surveyed, he is "somewhat suspect" of the methodology used.
"This report has suggested certain things, and reached certain conclusions, that I think may be based upon a long history of tension that existed with the community going back to the 80s, and it is not an accurate reflection of what is happening today," he said.
The board later ordered a review of the practice, spending $70,000 to have lawyer Frank Addario assess it in a subcommittee. He is expected to report his findings to the board on Feb. 19.
