The Toronto Police Department approved a series of proposals Wednesday aimed at examining – and possibly expanding – what can be done with the data in accordance with provincial law and its own policy. “When it comes to locating specific units or individual officers, it is definitely our intention to look at if and how this can be done, respecting the current legislation that creates the framework within which this is done,” said Ryan Teschner, CEO and Chief Executive Officer. Board of Directors. staff, he said in an email. The board will then consider this assessment and review its racial data policy, Teschner said, adding that the proposals “address a situation in the future where such an analysis could be possible, with respect for the legal framework “. When adopting the policy in 2019, the board said the data would not be used to identify specific officers or manage their performance, but to identify trends contributing to professional development and organizational change. Last week, Toronto police released the first set of statistics collected as part of the policy. The figures show that blacks and racists face disproportionate use of force and, for some groups, disproportionate enforcement and more frequent strip searches. The policy was enacted in 2019 after the provincial government passed the anti-racism law, which requires many public sectors to collect such information. At a news conference last week, caretaker Police Chief James Ramer said the data was intended to highlight systemic issues and could not be used to investigate the actions of individual officers because the anti-racism law and the privacy commission require anonymity. their. . Ramer also said that there are existing procedures, such as internal investigations and courts, to deal with the actions of individual officers, and that the force does not tolerate “overt racism”. The Ontario privacy commissioner has since made it clear that the law does not prevent police from using the data to evaluate and discipline individual officers. “The (Information and Confidentiality Commissioner) has not stated that the anti-racism law or the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act prevents a police service from using data – anonymously or not – collected as part of a tribal data collection strategy for “briefing the Ontario Office of the Commissioner for Information and Personal Data on the oversight, training and discipline of its police officers,” the statement said. “These laws are designed to protect people’s personal information and not information that identifies a person with a business, professional or official status.” Ramer acknowledged the clarification at Wednesday’s police council meeting, confirming that the commissioner’s office had not provided advice on the rule restricting the use of race-based data on systemic issues. However, he said the force data analysis “was built to comply with board policy, and therefore simply can not be used for individual performance issues”. Toronto Mayor John Tori, who is a member of the police council, said Wednesday that the report “clearly tells us we have a problem,” but anonymity makes it impossible to “look at and determine where the problem lies.” While there are cultural and systemic issues that need to be addressed, “I think it is impossible to meet this great challenge without addressing individual behavior,” he said. “I believe that unacceptable behavior is limited to a relatively small group, but even if that number is relatively small, individual behavior can and does affect the overall police culture,” said the mayor. Ramer apologized to the city’s black and racist residents last week as statistics were released, saying the force should do better. Many supporters and members of the community have said that the report only confirms what blacks and racists have been saying for decades. The figures show that blacks in the city faced a disproportionate amount of policing and violence in 2020 and were more likely to have a police officer point a gun at them – whether armed or unarmed – than whites in the same situation. The report also shows that people in the Middle East were over-represented in the use and use of force, while Latins and East and Southeast Asians experienced less enforcement than they were in the population, but saw more use of force when interacted with the police. . There were also racial differences in strip investigations, with Indigenous, black and white residents being disproportionately sought after compared to how many were arrested. This Canadian Press report was first published on June 22, 2022. Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
title: “Toronto Police Will Look Into Whether Match Based Data Could Be Used Differently " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-10” author: “Shaun Mcintyre”
Toronto police were asked to consider whether data based on the breeds they were forced to collect could eventually be used to identify and investigate “specific cases of possible unfair policing” as well as broader, systemic issues.
The Toronto Police Department approved a series of proposals Wednesday aimed at examining – and possibly expanding – what can be done with the data in accordance with provincial law and its own policy.
“When it comes to locating specific departments or individual officers, the intention is certainly to look at if and how this can be done, respecting the current legislation that creates the framework within which it is done,” said Ryan Teschner, executive director of the board. and its chief of staff, he said in an email.
The board will then consider this assessment and review its racial data policy, Teschner said, adding that the proposals “address a situation in the future where such an analysis could be possible, with respect to legal framework “.
When adopting the policy in 2019, the board said the data would not be used to identify specific officers or manage their performance, but to identify trends that contribute to professional development and organizational change.
Last week, Toronto police released the first set of statistics collected as part of the policy. The figures show that blacks and racists face disproportionate use of force and, for some groups, disproportionate enforcement and more frequent strip searches.
The policy was enacted in 2019 after the provincial government passed the anti-racism law, which requires many public sectors to collect such information.
At a news conference last week, caretaker Police Chief James Ramer said the data was intended to highlight systemic issues and could not be used to investigate the actions of individual officers because the anti-racism law and the privacy commission require anonymity. their. .
Ramer also said that there are existing procedures, such as internal investigations and courts, to deal with the actions of individual officers, and that the force does not tolerate “overt racism”.
The Ontario privacy commissioner has since made it clear that the law does not prevent police from using the data to evaluate and discipline individual officers.
“The (Information and Privacy Commissioner) has not stated that the anti-racism law or the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act prevents a police service from using data – anonymously or otherwise – collected as part of racial data collection “A strategy to update the oversight, training and discipline of its police officers,” the Ontario Office of the Commissioner for Information and Personal Data said in a statement.
“These laws are designed to protect people’s personal information and not information that identifies a person with a business, professional or official status.”
Ramer acknowledged the clarification at Wednesday’s police council meeting, confirming that the commissioner’s office had not provided advice on the rule restricting the use of race-based data on systemic issues.
However, he said the force data analysis was “built to comply with board policy and therefore simply cannot be used for individual performance issues”.
Toronto Mayor John Tori, who is a member of the police council, said Wednesday that the report “clearly tells us we have a problem,” but anonymity makes it impossible to “look at and determine where the problem lies.”
While there are cultural and systemic issues that need to be addressed, “I think it is impossible to address this great challenge without addressing individual behavior,” he said.
“I believe that unacceptable behavior is limited to a relatively small group, but even if that number is relatively small – individual behavior can and does affect the overall police culture,” said the mayor.
Ramer apologized to the city’s black and racist residents last week as statistics were released, saying the force should do better.
Many supporters and members of the community have said that the report only confirms what blacks and racists have been saying for decades.
The figures show that blacks in the city faced a disproportionate amount of police use and use of force in 2020 and were more likely to be armed by police – whether armed or unarmed – than whites in the same situation.
The report also shows that people in the Middle East were over-represented in the use and use of force, while Latins and East and Southeast Asians experienced less enforcement than they were in the population, but saw more use of force when interacted with the police. .
There were also racial differences in strip investigations, with Indigenous, black and white residents being disproportionately sought after compared to how many were arrested.
This Canadian Press report was first published on June 22, 2022.
