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2. Project Milestones

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2. Project Milestones

 

Community engagement sessions on measures to address systemic racism in Peel policing

 

March 14, 2022

The Peel Regional Police (PRP) and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) held online community engagement sessions to hear from community members on measures to address systemic racism and discrimination in policing in Peel Region.

From March 14 to April 18, 2022, people who live or work in Mississauga and Brampton were able to register to participate in one of four online community engagement sessions that were held on March 28, April 7, 13, and 19, via Zoom. Each session will ran from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Community participants had the opportunity to provide feedback on lived experiences and the concerns and issues they face with policing in Peel, during facilitated discussions in a formal and respectful environment.

The focus of the discussions was on the OHRC’s seven key principles on eliminating racial profiling, from its Policy on eliminating racial profiling in law enforcement. Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, police services have an obligation to the public and people they serve to ensure that service delivery is fair and free from discriminatory practices. The OHRC’s seven key principles are an important driving force to ensure that this happens, and has already received community support as reported in the PRP’s 2021 survey results on policing in Peel.

The seven principles are:

  1. Acknowledgement: Substantively acknowledging the reality of racial profiling, including the impact it has on individual and community well-being and trust in law enforcement, and recognizing the specific impact on Indigenous peoples and racialized communities and individuals.
     
  2. Engagement: Active and regular engagement with diverse Indigenous and racialized communities to obtain frank and open feedback on the lived experience of racial profiling and effective approaches to combatting it.
     
  3. Policy guidance: Adopting and implementing all appropriate standards, guidelines, policies and strict directives to address and end racial profiling in law enforcement.
     
  4. Data collection: Implementing race data collection and analysis for identifying and reducing disparity, and managing performance.
     
  5. Monitoring and accountability: Regularly monitoring racial profiling, and setting robust internal accountability mechanisms at the governance, management and operational levels.
     
  6. Organizational change: Implementing multi-faceted organizational change (for example, in relation to training, culture, hiring, incentive structures, etc.) consistent with the OHRC’s guide, Human rights and policing: Creating and sustaining organizational change.
     
  7. Multi-year action plan: Forming anti-racist action plans featuring initiatives geared toward achieving short- and long-term targets for advancing all of these principles.

Recommendations derived from these discussions will inform binding commitments that PRP and Peel Police Service Board will make for human rights organizational changes to address systemic racism in policing in Peel Region.

The OHRC encourages people who live or work in Mississauga and Brampton to continue using their voice to drive change by participating in these meetings.

 

 

2021 Community survey results on perceptions of, and experiences with, Peel Regional Police

 

December 16, 2021

On December 16, 2021, the Peel Regional Police (PRP) released its community survey report on systemic racism. The report shows that over half of survey respondents agree policing in Peel Region needs to be reformed. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) collaborated with PRP to develop the survey and advised on qualitative data analysis for the report.

The report provides analysis of the results of the September 2021 online community survey conducted by PRP and the Peel Police Service Board. The survey, on community perceptions of and experiences with Peel Regional Police, which was open to people who live and work in Peel Region received 1,102 valid responses.

Fifty-eight per cent of survey respondents had an interaction with the PRP in the past two years. People who identified as Black and South Asian had disproportionately more interactions with Peel Police, particularly related to stops, questioning and arrests.

The survey shows that Peel residents want to see more accountability and transparency in police interactions with the public. It found that 87% of respondents agree that officers should be required to intervene if they witness misconduct by other officers, and 84% agree that police body-worn cameras are a tool to enhance accountability and transparency.

The survey also shows significant dissatisfaction with PRP’s response to mental health calls. Only 38% agree that police are effective when responding to mental health incidents.

Nearly 60% of respondents agree that the seven key principles in the OHRC’s Policy on eliminating racial profiling in law enforcement provide a suitable framework for making positive organizational change and advancing respect for human rights in policing in Peel.

The survey and report are part of PRP’s Human Rights Project, which is part of PRP’s commitment under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its board and the OHRC to identify and address systemic racism and discrimination in policing in Peel Region.

 

Community survey on policing in Peel Region

 

September 15, 2021

PRP, the PPSB and the OHRC are working together to develop recommendations to address systemic racism in policing. As part of this process, PRP has launched a survey asking for community feedback on experiences with, and perceptions of, Peel Regional Police. The OHRC encouraged people who live, work or visit Peel Region to take the survey, which is confidential and anonymous. Note: The PRP survey is now closed.