An expansive Toronto police report released Wednesday confirms what many racialized people in the city have long said: Black, Indigenous and other diverse groups are disproportionately affected by use-of-force and strip searches by officers.
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer is discussing the data analysis at a morning news conference.
The never-before-seen statistics released today were drawn from records of 949 use of force incidents and 7,114 strip searches over the course of 2020. The granular analysis, compiled by the force’s Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights Unit alongside outside data experts in concert with a 12-member community panel, examines a wide range of questions.
How can they be overpoliced? “Racialized” people are the majority in Toronto. Perhaps the arrest stats merely reflect that demographic.
