The Human Rights Commissioner of British Columbia, Kasari Govender, has announced that an inquiry into the use of police force against minorities and people with mental health issues will be conducted. This decision roots from a 2021 Canadian report titled “Equity is Safer: Human rights considerations for policing reform in British Columbia.”
The aforementioned report has flagged potential concerns about the escalating rate of police use of force on the above-mentioned groups. The goal of the commission, through the proposed inquiry, is to gather data to quantify the impacts of this increasing trend. The report noted alarming overrepresentation of Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, and Arab/West Asian people in arrests across many police jurisdictions.
On top of data gathering and analysis, the commission also plans to identify measures to mitigate systemic discrimination concerns. They suggested that the government should collaborate with Indigenous peoples on a government-to-government basis to make amendments to the Police Act. Additionally, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General should amend the Police Act to officially authorize the police to collect race-based and other demographic data to tackle systemic discrimination in policing.
In a statement regarding the launch of the inquiry, Commissioner Govender said, “There is a direct connection between equity and community safety. Systemic discrimination erodes the foundation of trust between communities and law enforcement, jeopardizing the safety of all residents. This inquiry aims to better understand who is at the receiving end of use of force by police, whether any disproportionate impact revealed amounts to systemic discrimination and what can be done to address any equity issues that emerge. As I have said before, ‘we cannot act on what we do not know.'”
More details about the inquiry and its ensuing effects on legal and policing practices are yet to unfold.