Tory says disproportionate use of force on Black community “unacceptable”

In 2021, Toronto police conducted nearly 700 reported strip searches. More than 200 people who were strip searched were Black. 

That’s just one of many harrowing findings from race-based data collected by the Toronto Police Association. The internal data, which cannot be verified by third-parties, was presented during a Toronto Police Services Board meeting on June 22, focusing on both use of force incidents as well as strip searches conducted by law enforcement.

In a media release following the publication of the findings, the Toronto Police Association called the results disappointing while noting that the data “leave[s] more questions than answers.”

The association’s own data found that in the year 2020 alone, Toronto police were involved in nearly 1,000 documented use of force incidents. More than 135 of those incidents took place in response to calls related to mental health.

While the Toronto Police Association touts body-worn cameras by officers as a step forward, it remains unclear what—if any—impact surveillance technology has on preventing police violence. Additionally, the Association points to training programs already in practice related to de-escalation and individual biases. Again, it remains unclear whether these programs result in fewer incidents of police violence.

The report concluded that more than 90 per cent of all use of force incidents in 2020 were the result of a reactive policing encounter, making up an average of 2.3 use of force incidents every day in Toronto.

Police chief apology an ‘egregious public relations stunt’

The release of the data was accompanied by a June 15 press conference where interim Toronto Police Chief James Ramer apologized to “The Black Community” for failing to provide “fair and unbiased policing.”

But to University of Toronto professor and No Pride in Policing Coalition (NPIPC) spokesperson, Dr. Beverly Bain, the apology was nothing more than an “egregious public relations stunt.”