Human rights watchdog concerned about Ottawa police racial profiling

By Michael Charlebois and Kelly Millar

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is doing a one-year checkup on the Ottawa Police Service, to gauge its response to a report finding Black and Middle Eastern drivers were being pulled over disproportionately.

Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane wrote the city’s police board in September, and she said he has yet to receive an answer on a police plan is to combat racial profiling.

“To date we haven’t been provided with any other rationale that would explain the level of disparity, and that raises concerns,”

A human rights commission study released in November 2016 concluded Ottawa police stops were consistent with racial profiling.

The Race Data and Traffic Stops in Ottawa report covered data from 81,902 traffic stops over two years. Officers were required to record their perception of the driver’s race, gender, age, reason for the stop and whether the stop resulted in charges. The most alarming findings from the data showed Middle Eastern and Black drivers were being pulled over at a rate much higher than their driving population indicates.

Const. Lila Shibley, a member of OPS’s diversity and race relations section, said she doesn’t think racial profiling is a problem in Ottawa.

“Like within any organization there might be a small percentage that definitely needs very good competency training, but I think for the most part we’re doing a good job,” she said.

The data also revealed that gender and age played a role in traffic stops. Numbers showed that 16- to 24-year-old Black and Middle Eastern drivers were pulled over at even higher rates.

Young Middle Eastern male drivers were stopped 12 times more than expected based on their driving population, and young Black male drivers were stopped 8.3 times more than expected.

Mandhane initially spoke out against the police when the data was released. She asked that police “step up and acknowledge that something is wrong.”

Following the study, the OPS also launched a multi-year action plan to address the findings. But one year later, Shibley said it is still in the early stages and at this point there is no telling when the plan will be finished.

Shibley said the service is also in the process of restructuring its community and police action committee, which is comprised of members from Ottawa’s diverse population and is meant to bring forth community concerns to the police.

Shibley added the OPS has been collecting data since the study was completed, but is unsure of when and if it will be released publicly.