Toronto Police Services and Racial Profiling
July 12, 2005
Late last month, the Toronto Star published a series of articles on the Toronto Police Service and racial profiling of African-Canadian communities. Using data from the Police Services, obtained through Access to Information, the reports raised serious questions about the practice of racial profiling and its impact on Black communities in Toronto.
A coalition of over 30 organizations including OCASI and some of its member agencies came together to call on the Premier to take a leadership role in responding to the findings of the Toronto Star. We encourage all of you to make your voices heard.
Midaynta, an OCASI member agency, presented at the media conference. Below is the text of their presentation.
Midaynta Association of Somali Service Agencies
Queens Park, Media Studio
On behalf my agency, Midaynta Association of Somali Service Agencies, Continental African communities in the City and the Canadian public, I am concerned and deeply disturbed by the targeted actions of the Toronto Police towards the Black community in Toronto.
The Police are criminalizing us...because of the colour of our skin, or the way we dress or what we believe in.
Most of us came here as immigrants and refugees running away from oppression and we are still being oppressed. The Police are chasing our youth through the sidewalks, Plaza parking lots, Shopping Malls, and the Parks. The Police are criminalizing us and fingerprinting our youth for trespassing in public places. The Police are stopping and questioning our youth for driving decent cars, jogging or just talking in the lobby of their buildings. ALL of this is happening to us because of the colour of our skin, or the way we dress or what we believe in.
As newcomer communities, we, especially the Somali community, the largest Continental African Group in Toronto, are confused. We would like to become part of the society without labels and negative profiling. We want to be part of the Canadian family and contribute to the development and maintenance of a crime-free and civic society. We want the Police to understand the special needs of the newcomer communities, instead of criminalizing us. The Police MUST work for the society and NOT on the society. There is a mountain of evidence, through numerous studies and reports of special task forces, that the Toronto Police Department is laden with systemic racism. We want this culture to cease at once. And in the light of these studies and reports, we demand that Premier Ernie Eves instigates an immediate plan of action comprising of the following:
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Implementation of all recommendations contained in these reports;
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Establish an independent Auditing/Monitoring mechanism to be conducted by a mutually agreeable third party on bi-annual basis;
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Reinstatement of the complaints procedure/process; and
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Support the Black communities in developing and collecting data/stories of Police bias.
Finally, as community developers/leaders, we are willing and obliged to build and protect our nation and its diversity.
Ibrahim Absiye
Executive Director,
Midaynta, Association of Somali Service Agencies