CALGARY – An analysis of race-based data has revealed that the Calgary Police Service (CPS) disproportionately used force against Indigenous and Black individuals in the city last year, reigniting concerns about systemic racism within law enforcement. The findings, released in two reports presented at the Calgary Police Commission, highlight troubling racial disparities in how the CPS engages with marginalized communities.
The reports stem from a commitment made by CPS in 2020 to collect and report race-based data to address concerns about policing equity and bias. This initiative was part of broader national conversations about police accountability, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement and calls to end racial injustice in policing.
The analysis found that both Indigenous men and women, along with Black men, were significantly overrepresented in police use-of-force incidents compared to their share of the population. Use of force in CPS operations includes a range of aggressive actions, such as stuns, strikes, dynamic takedowns, leg restraints, spit masks, and the deployment of weapons like batons, pepper spray, and firearms.
Deputy Police Chief Brad Tawfik acknowledged that the data is based on officers’ perceptions during interactions rather than on self-reported racial identities from individuals involved. This reliance on perception-based data introduces potential inaccuracies, as officers may make assumptions about a person’s race, which could influence how they respond.
“At this point, it’s perception data, but there’s talk at the national level around whether it should be self-identification or both,” Tawfik explained. “This is a start, and we recognize the limitations in our analysis.”
While Tawfik cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions from this data, the fact remains that Indigenous and Black communities bear the brunt of disproportionate police actions. The reports also indicate that racialized males and females are underrepresented in use-of-force incidents, raising questions about how these disparities align with community safety and fairness.
Tawfik emphasized that the overall number of police interactions leading to the use of force is relatively small. “It’s about 0.14 percent of interactions that rise to a level of a use-of-force report being submitted,” he said, translating to one out of every 703 interactions. However, this statistic does not diminish the significance of racial discrepancies, especially for communities disproportionately affected by police actions.
The findings in Calgary echo similar reports from other parts of Canada, where racialized communities face elevated risks of police violence. In Toronto, a 2022 report revealed that 39 percent of people subjected to police force in 2020 were Black, despite Black residents making up a much smaller portion of the city’s population. The report further found that Black residents were more likely to have firearms pointed at them by police while unarmed than their white counterparts.
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer issued a public apology following the report’s release, acknowledging the harm caused to racialized communities.
Calgary Police Chief Const. Mark Neufeld reaffirmed CPS’s commitment to data transparency and accountability. He noted that while CPS is working on its own methodologies, it is also collaborating nationally to develop data standards for race-based reporting in policing.
“We are sharing the results of the analysis conducted by the Calgary Police Service as additional efforts towards a national framework remain underway,” Neufeld said, signaling that CPS aims to address these troubling findings through a more consistent and comprehensive approach.
Shawn Cornett, Chair of the Calgary Police Commission, stated that collecting and analyzing race-based data has been a key priority in efforts to identify bias and address systemic racism. “Race-based data helps us better understand areas where some communities are experiencing policing differently than others, and it makes it possible to track the effectiveness of ongoing work in this area,” Cornett said. She acknowledged that while the release of the reports marks progress, it is only the beginning of the hard work necessary to combat racism in policing.
Calgary’s reports come as national conversations about racial disparities in policing continue to intensify, with increasing pressure on police forces to reckon with their treatment of marginalized communities.
The release of these race-based data reports is a step toward greater accountability, but activists and community leaders argue that more needs to be done to confront and dismantle systemic racism in law enforcement. They are calling for tangible changes in how the police interact with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized individuals, along with more robust community oversight.
As Calgary Police strive to address these findings, the reports serve as a stark reminder of the deep-rooted inequalities that still exist in policing across Canada. The challenge now is to ensure that meaningful reforms follow the data, so that no one in Calgary feels targeted or mistreated by those sworn to protect them.
Halifax police have arrested a third person in a homicide case involving a 16-year-old who went missing two years ago.
Sixteen-year-old Devon Sinclair Marsman was last seen alive on Feb. 24, 2022 and was reported missing from the Spryfield area of Halifax the following month.
Last week, Halifax police arrested two people after human remains were discovered.
Halifax Regional Police say 23-year-old Emma Maria Meta Casey was arrested Wednesday in suburban Dartmouth.
She is facing three charges: obstructing justice; being an accessory after the fact to murder; and causing indignity to human remains.
Last week, police charged 26-year-old Treyton Alexander Marsman with second-degree murder, and charged a second man — a 20-year-old who was a youth at the time of the homicide — with being an accessory after the fact to the murder and obstructing justice.
Halifax police Chief Don MacLean has confirmed the Marsmans “share a familial relationship,” but he declined to be more specific.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
British Columbians could find out who wins the provincial election on Oct. 19 in about the same time it took to start counting ballots in previous votes.
Andrew Watson, a spokesman for Elections BC, says new electronic vote tabulators mean officials hope to have half of the preliminary results for election night reported within about 30 minutes, and to be substantially complete within an hour of polls closing.
Watson says in previous general elections — where votes have been counted manually — they didn’t start the tallies until about 45 minutes after polls closed.
This will B.C.’s first general election using electronic tabulators after the system was tested in byelections in 2022 and 2023, and Watson says the changes will make the process both faster and more accessible.
Voters still mark their candidate on a paper ballot that will then be fed into the electronic counter, while networked laptops will be used to look up peoples’ names and cross them off the voters list.
One voting location in each riding will also offer various accessible voting methods for the first time, where residents will be able to listen to an audio recording of the candidates and make their selection using either large paddles or by blowing into or sucking on a straw.
The province’s three main party leaders are campaigning across B.C. today with NDP Leader David Eby in Chilliwack promising to double apprenticeships for skilled trades, Conservative Leader John Rustad in Prince George talking power generation, and Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau holding an announcement Thursday about mental health.
It comes as a health-care advocacy group wants to know where British Columbia politicians stand on six key issues ahead of an election it says will decide the future of public health in the province.
The BC Health Coalition wants improved care for seniors, universal access to essential medicine, better access to primary care, reduced surgery wait times, and sustainable working conditions for health-care workers.
It also wants pledges to protect funding for public health care, asking candidates to phase out contracts to profit-driven corporate providers that it says are draining funds from public services.
Ayendri Riddell, the coalition’s director of policy and campaigns, said in a statement that British Columbians need to know if parties will commit to solutions “beyond the political slogans” in campaigning for the Oct. 19 election.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
QUEBEC – Canadian rapper K’naan, known for the global hit “Wavin’ Flag,” has been charged for an alleged sexual assault in Quebec City dating back more than 14 years.
A charge sheet filed at the courthouse in Quebec City says the rapper, whose given name is Keinan Abdi Warsame, is charged with one count of sexual assault from July 2010.
The arrest warrant alleges the assault took place between July 16 and July 17, 2010, dates that coincide with the musician’s appearance at Quebec City’s popular Festival d’été de Québec.
The case was before the court today but the accused was not present.
The victim, whose identity is protected, was 29 at the time of the alleged assault.
The musician, who was born in Somalia, grew up in Toronto but now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to the charge sheet. Messages left with him seeking comment were not immediately returned.
On Tuesday, he was given the cultural impact award at Canada’s SOCAN Awards for the global resonance of the 2009 hit “Wavin’ Flag.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
