Acknowledgement of racism in policing, clear action plan among recommendations in York police review

A York Regional Police vehicle is pictured in this file photo. (Simon Sheehan /CP24)

A new report suggests that despite ongoing efforts, York Regional Police (YRP) still have some way to go toward implementing a number of recommendations aimed at eliminating racism in policing.

The review, which came before the YRP board this week, follows efforts initiated by the force in 2020 to combat anti-Black racism.

The YRP Board held a meeting with leaders from the Black community in July 2020 amid worldwide outrage over the death of George Floyd. Community representatives came forward with a series of 51 recommendations for change to combat racism later that year, of which 43 fell within the responsibilities of the YRP.

Following a series of further meetings and discussions, the board commissioned a report in January 2022 to review the 43 community recommendations and advise on future steps in addressing anti-Black racism.

The review was completed in March and tabled at the YRP board this week. It details problems of racism both within the force and in dealing with members of the public.

Overall, the report found that while there is a surprisingly high level of confidence in the YRP among the Black community, “there is significant concern of anti-Black racial bias in YRP activity.”

It found that 60 per cent of Black respondents in York Region felt that their local police service does a good or average job of treating Black people fairly. While that compares to a GTA average of 42 per cent, it still leaves much room for improvement.

Within the force, the report found, virtually all YRP staff from equity seeking group backgrounds “agreed that there remained a significant equity and inclusion gap in the organization.”

Many staff reported macroaggressions which included the use of stereotypical and inappropriate language, jokes, and slurs.

“These staff members also indicated an inability to raise complaints about their treatment due to fear of reprisal,” the report states.

The report notes that YRP has been a leader for many years in equity, diversity and inclusion, but that “the Service’s specific attention to concerns of anti-Black racism is very recent and attention to issues of racism have not been center staged in broader equity and diversity efforts.”

In terms of dealing with the public, YRP staff from equity seeking groups felt that racialized minorities are overpoliced and criminalized disproportionately by YRP officers.

“In particular, they agreed that Black residents tend to be more aggressively handled than their White counterparts,” the report says.

The report cites the provincially-mandated collection of use-of-force data, which includes information about the perceived race of the subject. Referencing YRP’s 2020 use-of-force report, it said that 49 out of 230 use of force incidents identify Black individuals as being subject to some sort of use of force, accounting for 21 per cent of all incidents.

“This is significantly disproportioned to the Black population in York Region which represents only 2.5%,” the report says.

Use-of-force reports available on the YRP website for the past two years indicate that the proportion of Black subjects in use-of-force incidents is even higher now.

While the number dropped slightly to 20 per cent of all incidents in 2021, it rose to 35 per cent of all incidents in 2022.

The province also mandates the collection of race data around street checks, but the report notes that most police forces have hardly reported any street checks since the regulation came into effect in 2017.

However, where race was recorded for street checks conducted from 2013 to 2017, Black subjects accounted for 7.4 per cent of all YRP street checks.

While most police forces have not conducted their own in-depth studies around race and policing, the report cited studies conducted in Ottawa and Toronto and by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which indicate that anti-Black racism in policing tends to be a problem in general in Ontario.

In terms of the force’s ongoing efforts, the report found virtually all community participants in the Black Community Consultative Roundtable felt meetings were "dysfunctional" and "poorly facilitated."

Overall, the report made eight key recommendations for moving forward, including a formal acknowledgement of the presence of racism in policing activity; establishing race based data collection, analysis, and reporting from major policing actions; and the development of a multiyear anti-racism strategy and plan.

In a report to the board Wednesday, YRP Chief Jim Macsween said the force will continue to take action to connect with racialized communities as part of the development of a plan.

“An Anti-Racism Action Plan will renew the organization’s commitment to combatting racism and racial discrimination, moving toward the goal of advancing anti-racism within policing,” Macsween said. “Community partnerships are an essential part of the creation of such a plan. YRP’s Professionalism, Leadership and Inclusion Office will lead this work, continuing to acquire and expand its resources to support successful implementation of the plan.”

The report also calls on YRP to provide a clear statement to the community about the steps it plans to implement, along with target dates for implementation.

Macsween said resources to support the Anti-Racism Action Plan will be included in the 2024 budget proposal when it comes before the board.