Exploring equity, social justice and community safety with a humanistic lens
This is one of the most thorough, persuasive, and well-written pieces regarding the efforts to defund and eliminate the police. The challenge seems to suggest a viable alternative to police for contemporary democracy. There are numerous pilot programmes which are very promising. However, there isn’t a single instance in literature of a location where the …
Abid Jan – Feb 02, 2023. This is not surprising that ten Ottawa community groups released a statement Wednesday calling for a freeze to the police budget and investment in other services. This is again that time of the year for heated budget discussions, including Ottawa Police budget. There are many divergent views. However, for …
Police reforms are needed. However, reforms need to take 360 degrees of perspective to help us understand that policing is a challenging job to do. It is costly and complex. Police officers are not born and bread in police academies. They are part of the same society and reflect its values. They interact with community …
News: How racial bias can affect 911 calls and what dispatchers in Montreal are learning to stop it To fix the police or any other institution for systemic racism, we need to fix the society. Here is an example of the issue: “A 911 operator answers a call from a woman complaining about “a Muslim …
A welcome step by Halton Police. Community and police forces are collaborating in preventative efforts. However, when it comes to enforcement, unfortunately, in the Criminal Code of Canada, there is no such thing as Hate Crime. Hate Crime doesn’t exist. No wonder why nearly a quarter million Canadians said they were victims of hate-motivated incidents …
We must seriously consider a lesson from the US experience because trends from the South are replicated in the North – sometimes without delay. We are witnessing copycat extremism and polarisation in Canada, from insurrection (occupation) in the capital to hijacking the social justice movement and holding law enforcement alone responsible for the pervasive systemic …
The petition ( https://lnkd.in/e7Jb7B6P ) is fine – calling for steps to ensure this violence never takes place again to the visible minorities due to race, religion, gender, or any other distinctions that might indicate vulnerability. Board officials contacting the Ottawa police is fine, as is the offer to cooperate with the investigations. However, we need to …
Freeing schools from intimidation, harassment, and violence requires more than just punishing individuals after the fact. Students will benefit most from stopping hate-motivated harassment from happening at all. The right approach needs to incorporate several preventative strategies. Besides policies and procedures, schools need to use all programs activities at their disposal – from class rooms …
Minneapolis voters not only resoundingly rejected what was seen as the “defund” initiative, they also voted to strengthen the office of the mayor and reelected Frey, who’d become a local avatar for moderate Democrats put off by the party’s most liberal wing.
Sometimes a few simple steps can save lives and resources. In this case: Partnership with local mental health agencies. Gathering necessary information about people with mental health. Preparing officers for the MH crisis calls made a huge difference. We don’t need to take years and continually invest heavily in reinventing the wheel with chances of …
Here is an interesting new approach tried by some police services in US. Persons with mental illness have been killed or seriously injured during attempts to manage their crises. A growing number of very recent reports (like the following) confirm that COLLABORATION between law enforcement and mental health systems is crucial, and the very different …
Alberta updates Crown prosecutor’s manual to go after hate crimes Great progress indeed: “Prosecutors will now be explicitly directed that it would be in the ‘general public interest’ to prosecute a crime motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on the victim’s ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation, among other markers of identity.” Other jurisdictions …
An interesting read. The author, a retired commissioner of the OPP, believes it’s critically important to be aware of the linkages between public trust in police and police leadership, as the factors influencing public perception of police services are much bigger than officers on patrol can control. Chris argues there is not sufficient acknowledgment of …