The revelation that the Ottawa Police Service has developed a plan for mass holding centres for protesters in the event of mass arrests is simultaneously cause for celebration and concern.
On one hand, it shows that the police are taking seriously recommend ations from a report issued by civilian reviewer John Morden on the myriad abuses perpetrated by Toronto police during the 2010 G20 protests. On the other hand, it signals a mindset that the Ottawa police expect, at some point in the future, to face the necessity of arresting dozens or hundreds of people simultaneously.
It must be made absolutely clear that Canadians will not tolerate this abuse in the future and having oversight of police operations and a plan in place to address any mass arrests is an undeniably good thing.
However, part of the problem with incidents involving the police is the mindset with which these forces approach mass demonstrations. While a contingency plan is valuable, adopting strategies to ensure that this point is never reached is an integral component of any police policy.
Each year, Ottawa hosts a large number of political demonstrations, from Idle No More to Occupy protests to a gargantuan anti-abortion protest. What would be more reassuring than a plan to process detainees is an indication of what police plan to do to avoid arrests in the first place?
The police in this city have an extensive liaison process with protest organizers that police say facilitates free expression, while taking into account the concerns over public safety. Nevertheless, issues still exist. The Ottawa police still have in their quiver a “controlled containment tactic” where law-abiding and law-breaking protesters alike are herded together and then sorted.
The practice, more widely known as “kettling” was used at the Toronto G20, and, more recently, against anti-police brutality and student protesters in Montreal. It’s a practice that the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says violates Charter of Rights and Freedoms protections against arbitrary detentions.
Indeed, Toronto police have abandoned the practice.
For all its good intentions, a plan to hold mass arrests is worthless if police are planning to use tactics that ensure mass arrests, instead of attempting to de-escalate situations and try to avoid arrests in the first place. The focus needs to be on ensuring we never arrive at that outcome.
Morden, writing the civilian review of the Toronto Police Service in the wake of the G20 protests, said training did not include “practical examples of when to use crowd tactics,” and officer training emphasized “self-preservation,” instead of noting that “the police have an important role to play in the creation of an environment that facilitates the expression of Charter rights.”
This means extra training, extra education and an ongoing dialogue with the Ottawa police to ensure that all parties are that the police work for us and not against us, especially when we’re exercising our rights to association, protest and freedom of speech