Gaps in Toronto police policies have contributed to systemic anti-Black racism: OHRC report

“Significant” gaps in the Toronto Police Service’s policies, procedures, training, and accountability mechanisms have contributed to systemic racial discrimination and mistrust of police among members of the Black community, a new report by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) found.

In the third and final report in its inquiry into anti-Black racism by the Toronto Police Service (TPS), the OHRC made more than 100 recommendations to address anti-Black racism within the police service, changes that must be “legally enforceable.”

Evidence gathered by the OHRC on TPS charges, arrests, use of force, and street checks confirm that Black people are “significantly overrepresented across the spectrum of policing interactions,” the report, which was released Thursday, states.

The report pointed to gaps in policies and procedures related to police stops and searches, charges and arrests, use of force, anti-racism initiatives and training, as well as monitoring and accountability.

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It notes that the police service’s policies do not “adequately guide officer discretion to stop and search people” and do not offer enough guidance to officers on whether to lay charges, arrest, or use alternatives. The police service has also not yet developed a distinct policy or procedure on racial profiling, the report states.

“This report is the first of its kind. It combines quantitative analysis of hard data with the experiences of Black people, chronicling the extensive and long-standing harm suffered by Black communities as a result of discriminatory policing over many decades,” the authors of the report wrote.

“The impacts of such harm at a societal level are incalculable. The evidence of systemic racial discrimination and anti-Black racism cannot be ignored.”

Recommendations identified in the report include destroying historical street check data, expanding circumstances where officers should not use deadly force or shoot, as well as expanding the collection, analysis, and reporting of race-based data. Officers should also be given more guidance on discretion to use informal warnings, cautions, or diversion programs.

The commission first launched its inquiry in 2017 and has since released two interim reports, one in 2018 and another in 2020. The final report was initially set to be released two years ago but the commission said pandemic-related issues contributed to the delay in releasing it.

The report states that in recent years, TPS and the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) have taken steps that represent “genuine progress,” including an apology in 2022 from Toronto Police Chief James Ramer.

At that time, Ramer acknowledged that members of the Black community in Toronto are “disproportionately over-policed,” a fact that TPS data confirms. He also recognized that the police service “has not done enough” to ensure that every individual in Toronto “receives fair and unbiased policing.”

The report notes that this apology came following “sustained pressure from the Black communities” along with “a social movement demanding change.”

“To ensure real change, the TPS and TPSB must commit to specific, systemic, and concrete actions that are legally enforceable,” the report read.

“The decades of reports and calls for action from Black communities show that if the TPSB and TPS are committed to change, they must legally bind themselves to that change.”