carding (police policy)
{{short description|Police intelligence gathering method}}
{{Cleanup|date=April 2021|reason=the article is out of date in some lines, and contains some incorrect punctuation and repeated, unnecessary links (e.g. the names of various police services or organizations are linked numerous times when they should only be linked once or twice).}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=July 2018}}
In Canada, carding, officially known in Ontario as the Community Contacts Policy,{{Cite web
| title = Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.15, as amended, s. 31(1)(c).
| url = http://www.tpsb.ca/Community%20Contacts.pdf
| publisher = Toronto Police Services Board
| date = April 24, 2014
| access-date = June 15, 2015
| quote = "Contacts" are non-detention, non-arrest interactions between Service and community members that involve the eliciting and/or recording of personal information.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150331022056/http://www.tpsb.ca/Community%20Contacts.pdf
| archive-date = March 31, 2015
| url-status = dead
}} is an intelligence gathering policy involving the stopping, questioning, and documenting of individuals when no particular offence is being investigated.{{Cite news
| first = Victor
| last = Ferreira
| title = Toronto Mayor John Tory vows to reform 'carding' despite calls to end
| url = http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/toronto-police-put-carding-on-hold-until-key-changes-to-policy-are-made
| work = Posted Toronto
| publisher = NationalPost.com
| date = 2015-06-03
| access-date = 2015-06-15
| quote = The policy allowed Toronto police to routinely and randomly stop citizens in the streets and record or elicit personal information.
}} The interactions take place in public, private or any place police have contact with the public. The information collected is kept on record in the Field Information Report (FIR) database. FIRs include details including the individuals' gender, race, the reason for the interaction, location, and the names of any associates,{{Cite news
| first1 = Jim
| last1 = Rankin
| first2 = Patty
| last2 = Winsa
| title = Known to police: Toronto police stop and document black and brown people far more than whites
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2012/03/09/known_to_police_toronto_police_stop_and_document_black_and_brown_people_far_more_than_whites.html
| publisher = Toronto Star| date = 2012-03-09
| access-date = 2017-07-12
| quote = Toronto police document people on forms called Field Information Reports, which include personal details including skin colour, the reason for the interaction, location and names of others — or "associates" — who were involved in the stop.
}} to build a database for unspecified future use.{{Cite news
| title = London police did not attend a citizens group's debate on the controversial practice of street checks
| url = https://lfpress.com/2015/08/20/london-police-did-not-attend-a-citizens-groups-debate-on-the-controversial-practice-of-street-checks
| publisher = The London Free Press| date = 2015-08-20
| access-date = 2017-11-29
| quote = a highly controversial practice where police randomly stop and record information about people, vehicles and locations that aren't involved in criminal investigations, to build a database for future use.
}} Officially, individuals are not legally detained, but this distinction is not clear.{{Cite news
| first = Jonny
| last = Wakefield
| title = Social activist Desmond Cole to speak in Edmonton amid debate on controversial police practice
| url = https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/carding-activist-desmond-cole-to-speak-in-edmonton-amid-debate-on-controversial-police-practice
| publisher = Edmonton Journal
| date = 2017-07-10
| access-date = 2017-07-12
| quote = The person is not legally detained, but activists say this is often not clear and results in a disproportionate number of black and Indigenous people having information in law enforcement databases.
}}
Carding programs have been shown to consume a considerable amount of police resources, with little to no verifiable results on the level of crime.{{Cite news
| first = Jacques
| last = Gallant
| title = Police carding should be banned in Ontario, independent review says
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/12/31/police-carding-should-be-banned-in-ontario-independent-review-says.html
| work = The Star
| date = 2019-07-29
| access-date = 2018-12-31
| quote = A widespread program of random street checks involves considerable time and effort for a police service, with little to no verifiable results on the level of crime or even arrests
}} Carding is also known to contribute to a disproportionate amount of black and Indigenous people being recorded in law enforcement databases. Consequences for Indigenous and racialized populations include mental and physical health problems, loss of trust with the police, disparities within the criminal justice system, and social disadvantage, including potential loss of educational and employment opportunities.{{cite report
| author-link =
| first1 = Scot |last1=Wortley|first2=Akwasi|last2=Owusu-Bempah
| year = 2019
| title = STREET CHECKS, RACIAL PROFILING AND POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS: A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH LITERATURE
| url = https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/editor-uploads/appendixab.docx
| publisher = Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
| format = docx
| edition =
| location =
| chapter =
| section = THE CONSEQUENCES OF RACIAL PROFILING
| pages = 110–120
| docket =
| access-date = 2020-06-26
| quote =
}}
In summer of 2014, the Toronto Police Service discontinued the use of physical hard copy cards; officers were instead directed to enter the information captured during community engagements into their memobook as Community Safety Notes, which may be retained for a maximum of seven years.{{Cite web
| title = The PACER Report – Recommendations Update
| url = http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/pacer/recommendation_list_update_150812.pdf
| publisher = Toronto Police Service
| date = August 17, 2015
| access-date = July 15, 2016
| quote = That the Service discontinue use of the physical hard copy card (currently the Community Inquiry Report or TPS 306 Form) and, as a replacement, direct Officers to enter the information captured during such community engagements directly into their memobook for subsequent input into the electronic application.
| archive-date = March 4, 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190304163929/http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/pacer/recommendation_list_update_150812.pdf
| url-status = dead
}} Ontario's 2014 Counter Terrorism Plan directs police to ensure carding intelligence "is shared regularly with key partners", including Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.{{Cite news
| first1 = Jim
| last1 = Rankin
| first2 = Wendy
| last2 = Gillis
| title = Ontario police forces share carding data with Mounties, CSIS
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/04/23/ontario-police-forces-share-carding-data-with-mounties-csis.html
| publisher = Toronto Star
| date = 2017-04-27
| access-date = 2017-07-22
| quote = Municipal police services 'should ensure' that intelligence they gather 'is shared regularly with key partners', including the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police's anti-terrorism section, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP, according to the 2014 document — the most recent version of the plan — that was posted online by two small Ontario police services, then apparently removed.
}}
Meaning
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray stated that the distinction between carding and police-civilian interactions depends upon whether or not the information collected is recorded.{{Cite news
| first = Kelly
| last = Bennett
| title = Street checks not the same as carding: Regina police chief
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/evan-bray-regina-police-carding-1.3909670
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2016-12-23
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = Bray is adamant there is a distinct difference between carding someone and conducting a street check.
}} In 2017, the Vancouver Police Department definition of a "street check" is when an officer stops a person to conduct an interview or investigation in regard to suspicious activity or a suspected crime.{{Cite news
| first = Mike
| last = Howell
| title = VPD recommends more training for officers conducting 'street checks'
| url = https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2018/09/25/vancouver-police-street-checks/
| publisher = Vancouver Courier
| date = 2018-09-25
| access-date = 2018-09-27
| quote = According to the VPD's 2017 guidelines, the definition of a "street check" is when an officer stops a person to conduct an interview or investigation in regard to suspicious activity or a suspected crime. The interactions take place in public, private or any place police have contact with the public.
}} In 2018, the Vancouver Police Department clarified that an incident is only considered a "street check" when an officer successfully records an individual's personal information.{{Cite news
| first = Laura
| last = Kane
| title = Toronto 'carding' activist Desmond Cole stopped by police in Vancouver
| url = https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/toronto-carding-activist-desmond-cole-stopped-by-police-in-vancouver
| publisher = National Post
| date = 2018-11-14
| access-date = 2018-11-14
| quote = Cole said police appear to have classified the incident as not being a street check because no information was recorded, although in his case he refused to provide any.
}}
Kevin Brookwell, a spokesman for the Calgary Police Service, claimed that the term "carding" originated in Eastern Canada,{{Cite news
| title = Calgary police 'carding' raises concerns, says civil liberties group that filed FOIP request
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-carding-rocky-mountain-civil-liberties-1.3575539
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2016-05-10
| access-date = 2017-09-21
| quote = Calgary police spokesman Kevin Brookwell said what officers do in this city is not, strictly speaking, 'carding', which he describes as a term that 'came out of Eastern Canada'.
}} though Lethbridge Police Chief Rob Davis asserted that the term "carding" originated in the United States,{{Cite news
| first = Drew
| last = Anderson
| title = Complaint filed against Lethbridge police for 'racist' carding practices
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lethbridge-police-carding-formal-compaint-1.4183185
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2017-06-29
| access-date = 2017-07-06
| quote = The terminology being used is carding and it's a term that came out of the U.S., was applied in the Toronto area and it's sort of become a sensationalized term to describe a practice
}} and that a street check is not stop and frisk.{{Cite news
| first = Cam
| last = Yoos
| title = Street checks are an integral part of policing
| url = http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2017/06/26/street-checks-are-an-integral-part-of-policing/
| publisher = Lethbridge Herald
| date = 2017-06-26
| access-date = 2017-07-19
| quote = A street check is not "stop and frisk."
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170709021701/http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2017/06/26/street-checks-are-an-integral-part-of-policing/
| archive-date = 2017-07-09
| url-status = dead
}} Waterloo Police Chief Bryan Larkin claims officers card individuals to determine how people connect to each other.{{Cite news
| first = Jeff
| last = Outhit
| title = Waterloo Regional Police 4 times more likely to stop you if you are black
| url = https://www.therecord.com/news-story/6406146-waterloo-regional-police-4-times-more-likely-to-stop-you-if-you-are-black
| publisher = theRecord.com
| date = 2016-03-25
| access-date = 2017-07-19
| quote = Larkin cautions that police carded some people who are not local residents. He said approaching people to record their names is an intelligence-gathering effort to determine how people connect to each other.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161205160602/http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6406146-waterloo-regional-police-4-times-more-likely-to-stop-you-if-you-are-black/
| archive-date = 2016-12-05
| url-status = dead
}} Halifax Regional Police says officers also conduct passive street checks, where records are based on observations rather than interactions.{{Cite news
| first = Alexander
| last = Quon
| title = N.S. Human Rights Commission launches survey on use of 'carding' in Halifax
| url = https://globalnews.ca/news/4454730/halifax-police-street-check-survey/
| publisher = Global News
| date = 2018-09-16
| access-date = 2018-09-29
| quote = Halifax police say street checks are used to record suspicious activity. Although police stop and question people, the checks can also be "passive," with information recorded based on observations rather than interactions.
}}
The Victoria Police Department defines street checks as "when a police officer proactively conducts a field interview or investigation with a member of the public related to suspicious activity or a suspected crime".{{Cite news
| first = Katie
| last = DeRosa
| title = Victoria council agrees to seek ban on police 'street checks'
| url = https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/victoria-council-agrees-to-seek-ban-on-police-street-checks-1.24171978
| work = Times Colonist
| date = 2020-07-16
| access-date = 2020-07-26
| quote = A January 2020 report by the Victoria Police Department defines street checks as "when a police officer proactively conducts a field interview or investigation with a member of the public related to suspicious activity or a suspected crime."
}}
Aliases
; {{Anchor|Street Check Reports}} Street Check Reports: The Peel Regional Police refers to the practice as a "street check" and enter information gathered from "street check reports" into a database that Peel police maintains.{{cite news
| first = San
| last = Grewal
| title = Peel police chief says practice similar to carding takes place there
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/06/12/peel-police-chief-says-practice-similar-to-carding-takes-place-there.html
| work = Urban Affairs
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2015-06-12
| access-date = 2015-06-15
| quote = Peel police Chief Jennifer Evans was asked if an individual not linked to any ongoing investigation or police call that's come in, or any criminality, could be engaged by police and asked about any identifying information.
}} The Edmonton Police Service also uses the term street check report.{{cite news
| first = Cory
| last = Huculak
| title = Opinion: Street checks a valuable tool for police
| url = https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-street-checks-a-valuable-tool-police-association-says
| publisher = Edmonton Journal
| date = 2017-07-06
| access-date = 2017-07-19
| quote = We use 'Street Check Reports' as a tool to gather information.
}}
; {{Anchor|CIICC}} Collection of Information In Certain Circumstances (CIICC): Espanola Police call this practice "collection of information in certain circumstances" (CIICC).{{cite news
| first = Camilla
| last = White-Kirkpatrick
| title = New carding legislation now in effect
| url = http://www.midnorthmonitor.com/2017/01/02/new-carding-legislation-now-in-effect
| work = Local News
| publisher = Mid-North Monitor
| date = 2017-01-02
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = the process of collection of information in certain circumstances (CIICC) or stopping anyone arbitrarily now involves specific rules for officers to follow when such interactions are made.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170107005256/http://www.midnorthmonitor.com/2017/01/02/new-carding-legislation-now-in-effect
| archive-date = 2017-01-07
| url-status = dead
}}
; {{Anchor|Check-Up Slips}} Check-Up Slips: Prior to November 2016, the Calgary Police Service had a practice of collecting Check-up Slips.{{cite web
| first = Catherine
| last = Ford
| title = Carding must end for us to have a Just and Equal society
| url = http://www.progressalberta.ca/carding_must_end_for_us_to_have_a_just_and_equal_society
| publisher = Progress Alberta
| date = 2016
| access-date = 2017-07-19
| quote = It's called 'carding' by the public, 'check-up slips' by the Calgary Police and 'street intelligence reports' by the Lethbridge Police.
| archive-date = 2018-11-17
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181117144230/http://www.progressalberta.ca/carding_must_end_for_us_to_have_a_just_and_equal_society
| url-status = dead
}}
; {{Anchor|Street Intelligence Reports}} Street Intelligence Reports: The Lethbridge Police Service has a practice of gathering Street Intelligence Reports.
; {{Anchor|Contact Interviews}} Contact Interviews: The Saskatchewan Police Commission avoids the term carding because it prefers to use a more neutral term{{cite news
| first = Ryan
| last = McKenna
| title = Saskatchewan Police Commission brings in new policy on carding
| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-saskatchewan-police-commission-brings-in-new-policy-on-carding/
| publisher = The Globe and Mail
| date = 2018-06-06
| access-date = 2018-06-08
| quote = The commission, which regulates municipal and First Nations police forces, refers to the practice as contact interviews, but the terms carding or street checks have been used in other provinces.
}} In July 2018, the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners, defined a Contact Interview as a "contact with the public initiated by a member of a police service with the intention of gathering information that is not related to a specific known incident or offence".{{Cite web
| title = Information Update to Community Stakeholders and Request for Comment on "Contact Interview Guidelines for Municipal Police Services in Saskatchewan"
| url = http://vvcasaskatoon.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Contact-Interview-Provincial-Policy-Summary-July-2018.pdf
| publisher = Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners
| date = July 2018
| access-date = December 1, 2019
| quote = Contact Interview means a contact with the public initiated by a member of a police service with the intention of gathering information that is not related to a specific known incident or offence.
}} Contact Interview information may be kept for up to five years.{{cite web
| first =
| last =
| title = Police Commission Policy Manual - Part 2a
| url = http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/9/82922-Police%20Commission%20Policy%20Manual%20-%20Part%202%20-%20a.pdf
| publisher = Government of Saskatchewan
| date = 2018-06-04
| access-date = 2018-09-25
| quote = Contact interview information obtained and entered in police service records management systems will be retained in accordance with police service policy but in any case not for a period exceeding five years and thereafter will be purged from the system.
| archive-date = 2018-11-08
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181108103548/http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/9/82922-Police%20Commission%20Policy%20Manual%20-%20Part%202%20-%20a.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
; {{Anchor|Info Posts}} Info Posts: In October 2016, at a carding seminar held by the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre at the University of Calgary, Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin announced that the term check-up slips, will be decommissioned and replaced with the term info posts.{{cite news
| first = Mike
| last = Symington
| title = Calgary police 'carding' practice to be modernized, made more accountable
| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-police-carding-1.3791827
| date = 2016-10-05
| access-date = 2018-09-25
| quote = Chaffin says by the end of October, the present Calgary Police Service (CPS) system for carding — or check-up slips, as it's also known — will be decommissioned and replaced with a more accountable, modernized procedure that will be called info posts.
}}
; {{Anchor|Police Stop}} Police Stop: On 15 January 2020, the Attorney General of British Columbia introduced the term "Police Stop" into section 6.2 of the Provincial Policing Standards.{{cite web
| first =
| last =
| title = Provincial Policing Standards
| url = https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/police/standards/6-2-foreword-police-stops.pdf
| publisher = Ministry of Attorney General, Province of British Columbia
| date = 2020-01-15
| access-date = 2020-06-03
| quote = The term police stops is intended to refer to any interaction between a police officer and a person that is more than a casual conversation and which impedes the person's movement.
}} The standard specifies that such an action may include a demand for identifying information.
Scope
Ontario regulations constraining carding came to effect at the beginning of 2017, changing the scope of carding in Ontario cities.{{Cite web
| title = New Ontario rule banning carding by police takes effect
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/carding-ontario-police-government-ban-1.3918134
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2017-01-01
| access-date = 2017-02-23
| quote = A new provincial rule banning carding by police in specific situations in Ontario officially came into effect on Sunday, but some say it doesn't go far enough to end the controversial practice.
}}
=Prior to 2017=
- The PACER report indicates that from 2009 to 2011, there were 1,104,561 persons entered into the Toronto Police Service Field Information Report (FIR) database.{{Cite web
| title = The Police and Community Engagement Review
| url = http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/files/reports/2013pacerreport.pdf
| publisher = Toronto Police Service
| date = Jul 1, 2013
| access-date = June 15, 2015
| quote = Analysis indicated from 2009 to 2011, there were 1,104,561 persons entered into the FIR database.
}}
- In 2009 the Vancouver Police Department made 11,507 entries for street checks into the BC PRIME database.{{Cite web
| title = Policing Non-Residents of Vancouver
| url = http://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/foi/2010/foi-final-report-2009-040-policing-non-residents-of-vancouver.pdf
| publisher = Vancouver Police Department
| date = April 4, 2009
| access-date = June 15, 2015
| quote = There were 11,507 separate entity entries for street checks.
}} Between 2008 and 2017, officers conducted 97,281 street checks. 15% were Indigenous persons, (2% of local population), 4% were of Black persons (<1% of local population), with racial disparities increasing over time.{{Cite web
| title = Civil liberties and First Nations groups launch complaint on discriminatory police stops; call for investigation
| url = https://bccla.org/news/2018/06/release-civil-liberties-and-first-nations-groups-launch-complaint-on-discriminatory-police-stops-call-for-investigation/
| publisher = BC Civil Liberties Association
| date = 2018-06-14
| access-date = 2018-07-28
| quote = This morning, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) filed a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner calling for an immediate investigation of the significant racial disparity revealed in Vancouver Police Department's practice of street checks or police stops, often referred to as carding.
}}
- The Ottawa Police Service entered 45,802 people into the Ottawa Records Management System (RMS) database from 23,402 street checks in the years 2011 to 2014{{Cite web
| title = OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE PLAN FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROVINCIAL STREET CHECK REVIEW
| url = http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/cache/2/ru3d4suoll5054kig2kctjrl/30311804092016023745680.PDF
| publisher = Ottawa Police Service
| date = 27 July 2015
| access-date = April 8, 2016
| quote = There are 45,802 entities (persons) entered within the 23,402 Street Checks from 2011-14.
}}{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 2012, Andrew Tysowski discovered that while innocent of any crime, the Ottawa Police Service had collected and stored some of his personal information for six years.{{Cite news
| first = Anne
| last = McKinnon
| title = CU prof accuses Ottawa police of unjust 'carding'
| url = http://www.charlatan.ca/2012/08/cu-prof-accuses-ottawa-police-of-unjust-carding/
| publisher = charlatan.ca
| date = 2012-08-30
| access-date = 2015-06-15
| quote = Carleton prof Darryl Davies wrote a letter to the Ottawa Police after one of his students found out police had collected and stored some of his personal information for six years.
}}
- The Hamilton Police Service published the annual number of street checks its ACTION team completed in its 2013 year-end report to the service's oversight board: 5,423 Street Checks in 2011, 4,803 in 2012 and 3,684 in 2013,{{Cite news
| first = Kelly
| last = Bennett
| title = Hamilton Police do 10 to 15 'street checks' a day
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/hamilton-police-do-10-to-15-street-checks-a-day-1.3122073
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2015-06-22
| access-date = 2015-07-25
| quote = Hamilton Police conducted between 3,000 and 5,500 "street checks" yearly between 2010 and 2013.
}} records of these activities were recorded in the service's NICHE database.{{Cite web
| title = 2010 Annual Report
| url = http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/660A0C37-1D2A-4F11-9C81-5E81C512E360/0/The2010Report2.pdf
| publisher = Hamilton Police Service
| access-date = July 25, 2015
| quote = Implemented Street Check and entry of PONS directly into Niche for ACTION
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150725190425/http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/660A0C37-1D2A-4F11-9C81-5E81C512E360/0/The2010Report2.pdf
| archive-date = July 25, 2015
| url-status = dead
}}
- From 2005 to 2017, Halifax Regional Police officers have submitted 68,400 street checks of 36,700 individuals.{{Cite news
| first1 = Phlis and Angela MacIvor
| last1 = McGregor
| first2 = Angela
| last2 = MacIvor
| title = Black people 3 times more likely to be street checked in Halifax, police say
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-black-street-checks-police-race-profiling-1.3925251
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2017-01-09
| access-date = 2017-07-06
| quote = The data released to CBC News under freedom of information legislation shows that 36,700 individuals were checked over 11 years, some on multiple occasions.
}} Information is stored in Versadex, a Halifax Regional Police database also used to store other information.{{Cite news
| first = Kaila
| last = Jefferd-Moore
| title = Checking up on street checks
| url = https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/checking-up-on-street-checks/Content?oid=7790384
| publisher = thecoast.ca
| date = 2017-06-08
| access-date = 2017-07-06
| quote = All of this collected information is stored in Versadex, the database housing system that HRP uses to store criminal records and other information.
}}
- The Waterloo Regional Police have conducted 68,400 street checks between 2005 and 2015. Stops in the region increased from 1339 in 2005 to 8500 in 2013.{{Cite news
| first = Jackie
| last = Sharkey
| title = Carding: Who gets stopped for street checks in Waterloo Region
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/carding-street-checks-waterloo-region-1.3527657
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2016-04-09
| access-date = 2017-07-29
| quote = According to data provided by the Waterloo Regional Police Service, officer conducted 63,697 street checks between 2005 and 2015.
}} Records capture date, time, and personal information such as address, height, weight, sex, and race.{{Cite news
| first = Liz
| last = Monteiro
| title = Waterloo Regional Police conducted 3,304 'street checks' last year
| url = https://www.therecord.com/news-story/5671847-waterloo-regional-police-conducted-3-304-street-checks-last-year/
| publisher = theRecord.com
| date = 2015-06-11
| access-date = 2017-07-29
| quote = The street check captures date, time, and personal information such as address, height, weight, sex, and race.
}}
- Since 2006, Niagara Regional Police officers have submitted 157,315 street checks.{{Cite news
| first =
| last =
| title = Police board questions discipline
| url = http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/06/25/live-at-830-niagara-regional-police-services-board
| publisher = St. Catharines Standard
| date = 2015-06-25
| access-date = 2015-11-19
| quote = McGuire said Niagara officers have submitted 157,315 street checks since 2006.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151119233935/http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/06/25/live-at-830-niagara-regional-police-services-board
| archive-date = 2015-11-19
| url-status = dead
}}
- From 2009 to 2014, the Peel Regional Police conducted 159,303 street checks, recorded on PRP17 cards, and a freedom-of-information request by a Peel Region resident revealed that black people were three times more likely to be stopped than whites.{{cite news
| first = San
| last = Grewal
| title = Peel police struggle to find proof carding works, emails reveal
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/09/30/peel-police-struggle-to-find-proof-carding-works-emails-reveal.html
| work = Urban Affairs
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2015-09-30
| access-date = 2015-11-08
| quote = from 2009 to 2014, the Peel force conducted 159,303 street checks and that black people were three times more likely to be stopped than whites
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151105004915/http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/09/30/peel-police-struggle-to-find-proof-carding-works-emails-reveal.html
| archive-date = 2015-11-05
| url-status = dead
}}
- Between 2011 and 2014, the Edmonton Police Service carded 105,306 individuals, an average 26,000-plus people per year.{{Cite news
| first = Andrea
| last = Huncar
| title = Police street checks: Valuable investigative tool or racial profiling?
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/police-street-checks-valuable-investigative-tool-or-racial-profiling-1.3226705
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2015-09-14
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = Figures provided by Edmonton police show between 2011 and 2014, officers carded an average 26,000-plus people per year, a total of 105,306 over four years.
}} In Edmonton, carding information is stored indefinitely.{{Cite news
| title = 'Carding,' or random street checks, under review by Edmonton police
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/carding-or-random-street-checks-under-review-by-edmonton-police-1.3296341
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2015-10-30
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = Street-check figures provided by Edmonton police showed between 2011 and 2014 officers stopped and documented an average 26,000 people per year. The information is stored indefinitely.
}} The Police Service has acknowledged that "police do not inform people they have the right to walk away" and take the position that "some of the responsibility should be on individuals to know their rights".{{Cite report
| title = Police Carding in Calgary: The Police Response to RMCLA's Request
| url = http://rmcla.ca/ESW/Files/Police_Carding_in_Calgary_Backgrounder.pdf
| publisher = Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association
| access-date = 2017-07-06
| quote = The Edmonton Police Service has acknowledged that "police do not inform people they have the right to walk away" and take the position that "some of the responsibility should be on individuals to know their rights"
| archive-date = 2021-04-13
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210413074440/http://rmcla.ca/ESW/Files/Police_Carding_in_Calgary_Backgrounder.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
- In 2014, the London Police Service performed 8,400 street checks and entered 14,000 people, vehicles and properties into their database, of those identified, 71% were white, 7.7% were black and 5.3% were of First Nation heritage.{{Cite news
| first = Jennifer
| last = O'Brien
| title = London councillor Mo Salih calling for review of police street checks
| url = https://lfpress.com/2015/06/17/london-councillor-mo-salih-calling-for-review-of-police-street-checks
| publisher = lfpress.com
| date = 2015-06-17
| access-date = 2015-07-25
| quote = 2014 STREET CHECKS IN LONDON Checks: 8,400 Number of people entered: 14,000 Racial breakdown: White: 71.2%, black 7.7%, Aboriginal, 5.3%, Middle Eastern, 2.5%, Asian, 1.1%, Hispanic. .1%, East Indian, .05%, Other, 4.3%, Not recorded. 6.9%.
}}
- In 2010, the Calgary Police Service carded 47,000 people, while in 2015 around 27,000 people having been carded.{{Cite news
| first = Salmaan
| last = Farooqui
| title = Chief of Police speaks on 'carding' controversies in Calgary
| url = https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/chief-of-police-speaks-on-carding-controversies-in-calgary
| publisher = Calgary Herald
| date = 2016-06-28
| access-date = 2016-07-04
| quote = In Calgary, the numbers were not only much lower, but have decreased noticeably from 2010 to 2015, with only around 27,000 people having been carded in 2015, compared to 47,000 in 2010.
}}
- In 2014, the Saskatoon Police Service stopped nearly 4,500 people, about 1.7 per cent of the city's population.{{Cite news
| first = Chanss
| last = Lagaden
| title = Saskatoon police do more carding than other Canadian cities: report
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-police-do-more-carding-than-other-canadian-cities-report-1.3196741
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2015-08-19
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = Saskatoon Police confirm that nearly 4,500 people were stopped and asked for identification in the city
}} In 2015, 735 street checks were conducted.{{Cite news
| first = Charles
| last = Hamilton
| title = Anti-carding group brings concerns to police board
| url = https://thestarphoenix.com/news/crime/anti-carding-group-brings-concerns-to-police-board
| publisher = Saskatoon StarPhoenix
| date = 2016-04-21
| access-date = 2016-12-20
| quote = Saskatoon police officers conducted 735 street checks in 2015, mostly downtown between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
}} In Saskatoon, street check records are kept for ten years.{{Cite news
| title = Saskatoon police do more carding than other Canadian cities: report
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-police-do-more-carding-than-other-canadian-cities-report-1.3196741
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2015-08-19
| access-date = 2017-07-21
| quote = In Saskatoon, computerized information gathered from these street checks is kept for ten years.
}}
- In 2014, the Windsor Police Service generated 953 street check reports, the service averages 1,265 street checks a year.{{Cite news
| first = Trevor
| last = Wilhelm
| title = Windsor police chief calls new provincial street check rules 'negligent'
| url = https://windsorstar.com/news/crime/windsor-police-chief-calls-new-provincial-street-check-rules-negligent
| publisher = Windsor Star
| date = 2015-08-30
| access-date = 2017-01-06
| quote = Windsor police average 1,265 street checks a year, according to a report released at this week's police services board meeting. In 2014, officers submitted 953 street check reports.
}}
- In 2015, the Lethbridge Police Service filed 1,257 carding reports, and 1,007 in 2016. Though 80 per cent of the Lethbridge's population identify as caucasian, 60 per cent of the recorded carding incidents in Lethbridge involved non-caucasians.{{Cite news
| first = Dave
| last = Mabell
| title = Lawyer calls for end to 'carding' of blacks, aboriginals
| url = http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2017/06/21/lawyer-calls-for-end-to-carding-of-blacks-aboriginals/
| publisher = Lethbridge Herald
| date = 2017-06-21
| access-date = 2017-06-22
| quote = Hlady said she obtained Lethbridge carding statistics through a "freedom of information" request. It showed officers filed 1,007 carding reports in 2016, and 1,257 a year earlier..
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170703113513/http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2017/06/21/lawyer-calls-for-end-to-carding-of-blacks-aboriginals/
| archive-date = 2017-07-03
| url-status = dead
}}
- In 2012, the Edmonton Police Service filed 27,322 carding reports,{{Cite news
| first = Jonny
| last = Wakefield
| title = 'Carding' stops by Edmonton police drop 30 per cent in one year
| url = https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/carding-stops-by-edmonton-police-drop-30-per-cent-in-one-year
| publisher = Edmonton Journal
| date = 2018-06-24
| access-date = 2018-06-26
| quote = Last year's total was down 30 per cent since 2016 and nearly 40 per cent from a high of 27,322 street check reports in 2012.
}} 27,155 in 2015 and 22,969 in 2016{{Cite news
| first = Jonny
| last = Wakefield
| title = Social activist Desmond Cole to speak in Edmonton amid debate on controversial police practice
| url = https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/carding-activist-desmond-cole-to-speak-in-edmonton-amid-debate-on-controversial-police-practice
| publisher = Edmonton Journal
| date = 2017-07-10
| access-date = 2017-07-12
| quote = Edmonton police conducted 22,969 street checks in 2016 compared to 27,155 the year before.
}}. During 2016 in Edmonton, Indigenous women were 10 times more likely to be stopped by officers.{{Cite news
| first = Andrea
| last = Huncar
| title = Indigenous women nearly 10 times more likely to be street checked by Edmonton police, new data shows
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/street-checks-edmonton-police-aboriginal-black-carding-1.4178843
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2017-06-27
| access-date = 2017-07-13
| quote = The data, obtained by CBC News from the Edmonton Police Service through a freedom of information request, shows that in 2016, Aboriginal women were nearly 10 times as likely to be checked as white women.
}}
=Since 2017=
- In 2017, the Hamilton Police Service filed 5 carding reports.{{Cite news
| first = Kelly
| last = Bennett
| title = Police board chair expects 'hard questions' on anti-carding law
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/ferguson-shootings-concern-1.4535989
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2018-02-15
| access-date = 2018-02-23
| quote = A report scheduled to be presented to the board Thursday states that the Hamilton Police Service conducted five interactions with members of the public in 2017 that required them to follow the regulations outlined in the law.
}}
- In 2017, the Ottawa Police Service recorded 7 carding stops.{{Cite news
| first = Marc-André
| last = Cossette
| title = Critics doubt new police stats on street checks
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/street-check-2017-report-1.4506005
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2018-01-29
| access-date = 2018-02-23
| quote = After spending more than $500,000 to implement new provincial rules governing street checks, Ottawa police stopped only seven people between March and December 2017, according to a report released ahead of Monday's Ottawa Police Services Board meeting.
}}
- In 2017, the Vancouver Police Department recorded 6,322 street checks{{Cite report
| title = VPD Street Check Data 2008-2017
| url = http://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/foi/2018/vpd-street-check-data-2008-2017.xlsx
| publisher = Vancouver Police Department
| date = 2018-05-24
| access-date = 2018-06-15
}}. While Indigenous people make up about 2 percent of Vancouver's population, 16 percent of those subjected to Vancouver street checks in 2017 were Indigenous.{{Cite news
| first = Sunny
| last = Dhillon
| title = Premier Horgan, Vancouver mayor Robertson express concern over city police';s use of street checks
| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-premier-horgan-vancouver-mayor-robertson-express-concern-over-city
| publisher = The Globe and Mail
| date = 2018-06-07
| access-date = 2018-06-15
| quote = Data released by the force show 16 per cent of street checks last year involved people who were Indigenous. But Indigenous people make up about 2 per cent of Vancouver's population.
}}
- In 2017, the Edmonton Police Service filed 15,909 street check reports,{{Cite news
| first = Jonny
| last = Wakefield
| title = 'Carding' stops by Edmonton police drop 30 per cent in one year
| url = https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/carding-stops-by-edmonton-police-drop-30-per-cent-in-one-year
| publisher = Edmonton Journal
| date = 2018-06-24
| access-date = 2018-06-26
| quote = Officers filed 15,909 street check reports in 2017, documenting cases where they stop and request information from someone who is not suspected of a crime.
}} a 30 percent reduction from 2016 which Police Chief Rod Knecht attributes in part to the carding controversy.
- In 2019, the University of Ottawa asserted that according to Policy 33, Members of Protection Services are authorized to request proof of identity from persons on campus.{{Cite news
| first = Megan Gillis
| last = Gillis
| title = 'Humiliating': Black uOttawa student handcuffed in campus carding incident
| url = https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/humiliating-black-uottawa-student-cuffed-in-campus-carding-incident
| publisher = Ottawa Citizen
| date = 2019-06-14
| access-date = 2019-06-15
| quote = There is a regulation on campus that permits carding that dates back to 1992, Frémont said.
}}
- In 2020, Chief Mark Neufeld of the Calgary Police Service stated that even when there is no apparent evidence of a crime, stopping individuals and demanding personal information remains an important part of police work.{{Cite news
| first = David Bell
| last = Bell
| title = Is there systemic racism in Calgary police? 'I am not so sure,' chief says
| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/is-there-systemic-racism-in-calgary-police-1.5606964
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2020-06-10
| access-date = 2020-06-27
| quote = "I think they are an important part of police work," Neufeld said.
}}
Criticism
Opposition to carding is widespread, with testimony and a news organization investigation indicating that carding in Toronto primarily targets black and brown Canadians.{{cite news
| first = Jennifer
| last = Pagliaro
| title = Mayor John Tory maintains carding needs reforming, not ending
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/06/03/mayor-john-tory-maintains-carding-needs-reforming-not-ending.html
| work = City Hall
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2015-06-03
| access-date = 2015-06-04
| quote = After dozens of prominent Torontonians stood just steps from John Tory's second-floor city hall office to demand an end to carding, the mayor said he heard their message 'very clearly'. But on Wednesday, Tory refused to join that call, instead doubling down on his position that the practice needs reforming, not shelving.
}} The Law Union of Ontario submitted that carding implements a systematic violation of people's Charter rights, human rights, and privacy rights.{{Cite web
| title = Submissions to Toronto Police Services Board Re: Community Contacts Policy
| url = http://www.tpsb.ca/Community%20Contacts.pdf
| publisher = Toronto Police Services Board
| date = 2014-05-25
| access-date = 2015-06-15
| quote = This practice was a systematic violation of the rights of people in our communities, and especially of racialized youth, and it undermined the public's trust and confidence in the police service and thereby impaired public safety.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150331022056/http://www.tpsb.ca/Community%20Contacts.pdf
| archive-date = 2015-03-31
| url-status = dead
}} The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman believes the practice of carding is illegal.{{Cite web
| title = Ontario Ombudsman slams police street checks
| url = https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Newsroom/Ombudsman-in-the-News/2015/Ontario-Ombudsman-slams-police-street-checks-(The-.aspx
| publisher = The Ottawa Sun
| date = 2014-07-28
| access-date = 2015-08-27
| quote = I've always thought that carding is an illegal measure.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051202/https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Newsroom/Ombudsman-in-the-News/2015/Ontario-Ombudsman-slams-police-street-checks-(The-.aspx
| archive-date = 2016-03-04
| url-status = dead
}}
On November 18, 2013, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association denounced carding as "unlawful and unconstitutional" to the Toronto Police Services Board.{{Cite web
| title = Submissions to the Toronto Police Services Board Meeting Nov 18, 2013
| url = https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2013-11-18-Submission-to-TPSB-re-Pacer-and-TPSB-reports-FINAL.pdf
| publisher = Canadian Civil Liberties Association
| date = 2013-11-18
| access-date = 2017-07-20
| quote = It is unlawful and unconstitutional, in our view, to stop, question, detain, and/or search a person and/or record their information in a police database, if the interaction is not voluntary and in the absence of a proper investigative purpose, as set out below.
| archive-date = 2019-10-10
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191010013340/https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2013-11-18-Submission-to-TPSB-re-Pacer-and-TPSB-reports-FINAL.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
On January 13, 2014, the Ontario Human Rights Commission formally notified the Toronto Police Services Board that the practice of carding must be stopped.{{Cite web
| title = Letter to the Toronto Police Services Board regarding the practice of carding
| url = http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/news_centre/letter-toronto-police-services-board-regarding-practice-carding
| publisher = Ontario Human Rights Commission
| date = 2014-01-13
| access-date = 2018-12-12
| quote = In the interim, until clear and lawful criteria are developed and assessed against the Human Rights Code and the Charter, or guidance is provided in the form of an order by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario or the courts, our position remains that the practice must be stopped.
}}
On May 7, 2015, in Elmardy v. TPSB, Ontario Superior Court Justice Frederick Myers ruled "One who is not being investigated for criminality is allowed to walk down the street on a cold night with his or her hands in the pockets and to tell inquisitive police officers to get lost without being detained, searched, exposed to sub-zero temperatures, or assaulted."{{Cite web
| title = Elmardy v.TPSBandPak
| url = http://thebarristersgroup.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Elmardy_v.TPSBandPak.pdf
| publisher = The Barristers Group
| date = 2015-05-07
| access-date = 2017-08-21
| archive-date = 2017-08-22
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170822182425/http://thebarristersgroup.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Elmardy_v.TPSBandPak.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
On October 23, 2015, Ruth Goba, Interim Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Commission Rights Commission,
stated that when Hamilton Police Chief De Caire requires police officers to be "stopping, talking and investigating young black males", the Hamilton Police Service is implementing a textbook description of racial profiling.{{Cite web
| title = Carding is basic investigative work, Hamilton officers say (Oct. 22, 2015)
| url = http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2491044/ohrc-response-to-glenn-de-caire-approach.pdf
| publisher = Ontario Human Rights Commission
| date = 2014-10-23
| access-date = 2016-04-28
| quote = This is a textbook description of racial profiling. It is not discretion in action – it is a racially-motivated round-up.
}} On April 26, 2016, Hamilton Councillor Matthew Green, a public official in Hamilton opposed to police carding, was carded by the Hamilton Police Service.{{Cite news
| title = Councillor says he was 'arbitrarily stopped/ questioned' by police
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/councillor-says-he-was-arbitrarily-stopped-questioned-by-police-1.3554066
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2016-04-26
| access-date = 2016-04-27
| quote = Green, the city's first black councillor, was waiting for a bus on the corner of Stinson Street and Victoria Avenue South when the interaction happened.
}}
After a fact finding mission in October 2016, the United Nations' Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent expressed concerns that racial profiling is endemic to carding strategies and practices used by Canadian law enforcement.{{cite press release
| author =
| title = Statement to the media by the United Nations' Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, on the conclusion of its official visit to Canada, 17-21 October 2016
| url = http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20732&LangID=E
| location = Ottawa
| publisher =
| agency = Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
| date = 21 October 2016
| access-date = 2016-11-01
}}
On November 8, 2016, Mike Ellis, MLA for Calgary-West, stated that carding violates Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.{{Cite news
| first = Kyle
| last = Muzyka
| title = Tory MLA demands Alberta government stop police carding
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/calgary-tory-mla-stop-police-carding-1.3842764
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2016-04-26
| access-date = 2016-04-27
| quote = 'The police cannot just arbitrarily stop people on the street and demand identification from them', Ellis said. 'This is not really anything that is actually debatable here. This is Section 9 of the charter of rights.'
}}
On January 9, 2017, Halifax Regional Police released statistics showing police were three times as likely to card blacks than whites.{{Cite news
| first = Sean
| last = Previl
| title = Black in Halifax? You're three times more likely to undergo police check
| url = http://globalnews.ca/news/3169332/black-in-halifax-youre-three-times-more-likely-to-underg
| publisher = Global News
| date = 2017-01-09
| access-date = 2016-07-31
| quote = Black people are three times more likely than white people to be stopped for a street check by police, according to statistics released by Halifax Regional Police (HRP).
}} Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil responded, "I don't think it's acceptable anywhere. I think I was startled, like most Nova Scotians, by the stats that were brought out".{{Cite news
| first = Alison
| last = Auld
| title = Police-check numbers have 'startled' Nova Scotians, premier says
| url = http://globalnews.ca/news/3177875/police-check-numbers-have-startled-nova-scotians-premier-says/
| publisher = Global News
| date = 2017-01-12
| access-date = 2016-07-31
}} Mayor Michael Savage said the numbers concerned him, and he would press the force to gather more information to determine why the checks were done and what police were looking for. In April 2017 the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission announced that it will lead an investigation into the practice of carding in Halifax.{{Cite news
| first = Robert
| last = Devet
| title = Human Rights Commission slow out of the starting block for carding data analysis
| url = https://nsadvocate.org/2017/06/06/human-rights-commission-slow-out-of-the-starting-block-for-carding-data-analysis/
| publisher = Nova Scotia Advocate
| date = 2017-06-06
| access-date = 2016-07-31
| quote = The group never got that moratorium it asked for, but in April the NSHRC announced that it will lead a narrow investigation into the practice of carding in Halifax.
}}
On June 14, 2015, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association filed a complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of British Columbia over carding of Indigenous and black people in Vancouver.{{Cite news
| first = Charlie
| last = Smith
| title = Stakes are high for Chief Adam Palmer as he defends Vancouver police street checks
| url = https://www.straight.com/news/1090451/stakes-are-high-chief-adam-palmer-he-defends-vancouver-police-street-checks
| publisher = The Georgia Straight
| date = 2018-06-14
| access-date = 2018-06-15
| quote = The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association have filed a complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner about a "significant racial disparity" in the use of a Vancouver police investigative technique.
}} Both British Columbian Premier John Horgan and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson have expressed concern over city police's use of street checks.{{Cite news
| first = Sunny
| last = Dhillon
| title = Premier Horgan, Vancouver mayor Robertson express concern over city police's use of street checks
| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-premier-horgan-vancouver-mayor-robertson-express-concern-over-city
| publisher = The Globe and Mail
| date = 2018-06-07
| access-date = 2018-06-15
| quote = British Columbia Premier John Horgan says he is concerned about the Vancouver Police Department's use of street checks and has instructed his Public Safety Minister to examine the issue. The Premier's comments came the same day Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson also expressed concern about the checks.
}}
On September 26, 2018, Josh Paterson, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, told the Vancouver Police Board, "There has been a long-standing debate about whether street checks as one of the tools of policing are effective, and there is some evidence to show it's not necessarily that conclusive."{{Cite news
| first = Cherise
| last = Seucharan
| title = Police board approves possible third-party review of street checks
| url = https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/09/26/police-board-approves-possible-third-party-review-of-street-checks.html
| work = The Star
| date = 2018-09-26
| access-date = 2018-09-27
| quote = There has been a long-standing debate about whether street checks as one of the tools of policing are effective, and there is some evidence to show it's not necessarily that conclusive, Paterson said. So we think there needs to be an independent review.
}}
On March 27, 2019, the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition called for a moratorium on street checks until the lawfulness of existing practices has been clarified.{{Cite news
| first = Zane
| last = Woodford
| title = Black people in Halifax almost six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people, report shows
| url = https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2019/03/27/black-people-in-halifax-almost-6-times-more-likely-to-be-stopped-by-police-than-white-report.html
| work = The Star
| date = 2019-03-27
| access-date = 2019-06-15
| quote = Robert Wright of the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition called for an immediate moratorium on street checks while the municipality's board of police commissioners and the provincial government make their choice, but he and the coalition believe they should be banned completely.
}}
In August 2019, the City of Montreal released a report finding systemic bias in street checks performed by officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the police force for the city of Montreal, Quebec, during 2014–2017. Indigenous and black people were shown to be between 4 and 5 times more likely to be carded than white people, while Indigenous women constitute a group particularly targeted, 11 times more likely to be questioned by the SVPM than white women.{{cite report
| author-link =
| vauthors = Armony V, Hassaoui M, Mulone M
| year = 2019
| title = Les interpellations policières à la lumière des identités racisées des personnes interpellées. Analyse des données du Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) et élaboration d'indicateurs de suivi en matière de profilage racial.
| url = https://spvm.qc.ca/upload/Rapport_Armony-Hassaoui-Mulone.pdf
| publisher = Ville de Montréal
| edition =
| location =
| chapter =
| section =
| page =
| pages =
| docket =
| access-date =
| quote = Le Tableau 2.3 nous révèle certains écarts considérables en termes du sexe de la personne interpellée, surtout en ce qui concerneles femmes autochtones: elles courent 11 fois plus de chances de se faire interpeller que les femmes blanches(comparativement à un score d'un peu plus de 3 pour les hommes autochtones).
}}
On July 16, 2019, Victoria councillors unanimously approved a motion that calls on the Victoria Police Department to end street checks in Victoria. The motion notes that the practice of street checks goes against the city's strategic plan of creating a welcoming environment for all people, and highlights that police boards and police departments should take into account the priorities of local communities when establishing operational policies.{{cite report
| author-link =
| last1 = Dubow|last2=Potts|last3=Isitt|last4=Loveday
| year = 2020
| title = Ending Street Checks in the City of Victoria
| url = https://pub-victoria.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=56654
| publisher = City of Victoria
| format = pdf
| edition =
| location =
| chapter =
| section =
| page =
| pages =
| docket =
| access-date = 2020-07-26
| quote = THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Victoria City Council declares that street checks and carding are against the priorities, goals and objectives of the City of Victoria;
}}
Oversight
There is an ongoing debate around what ability police boards have to influence carding operations:{{Cite news
| first = Kelly
| last = Bennett
| title = Why can't Ontario's police boards make police stop carding?
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/why-can-t-ontario-s-police-boards-make-police-stop-carding-1.3246985
| publisher = cbc.ca
| date = 2015-10-03
| access-date = 2015-10-06
| quote = Somehow this myth about how the boards can't say anything about operations came into being.
}}
- The Hamilton Police Services Board moved to suspend the practice of carding while the province reviews, but it was stopped by the police service's lawyer. Instead the board moved to request an information report on best practices as it pertains to policy around Community Street Checks.{{Cite web
| title = Hamilton Services Board Agenda Sept 24th 2015
| url = http://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/sites/default/files/sept24agendapublic_1.pdf
| publisher = Hamilton Police Services Board
| date =
| access-date = 2015-10-06
| quote = The Board request an information report on best practices as it pertains to policy around Community Street Checks.
| archive-date = 2015-10-06
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151006222704/http://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/sites/default/files/sept24agendapublic_1.pdf
| url-status = dead
}} Shortly thereafter, Chief Glenn De Caire refused to implement an interim policy governing carding that was adopted from the Toronto Police Services Board.
- The Peel Police Services Board passed a recommendation that the chief stop carding,{{Cite web
| title = Peel Police Services Board Agenda Sept 25th 2015
| url = http://peelpoliceboard.ca/agendas/2015/september-25-2015-agenda.pdf
| publisher = Peel Police Services Board
| access-date = 2015-10-06
| quote = The issue of 'Street Checks' as conducted by the Peel Regional Police was put on the agenda as New Business.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151006170034/http://peelpoliceboard.ca/agendas/2015/september-25-2015-agenda.pdf
| archive-date = 2015-10-06
| url-status = dead
}} but the Chief Jennifer Evans said she will not follow their recommendation.
- On November 22, 2016, the London City Council formally asked Chief of Police John B. Pare to ban the London Police Service practice of random street checks.{{Cite news
| title = London, Ont. city council urges ban on police carding
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/london-carding-police-1.3863557
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2016-11-23
| access-date = 2017-07-20
| quote = Politicians gave impassioned speeches before unanimously agreeing to officially request its police services board to ban random street checks, also known as carding.
}}
On August 13, 2015, the London diversity and race relations advisory committee met to discuss carding practices in the city, though the London Police Service officer dedicated to race relations did not attend the meeting.{{Cite news
| title = London police did not attend a citizens group's debate on the controversial practice of street checks
| url = https://lfpress.com/2015/08/20/london-police-did-not-attend-a-citizens-groups-debate-on-the-controversial-practice-of-street-checks
| publisher = The London Free Press
| date = 2015-08-20
| access-date = 2017-11-29
| quote = "I'll just be honest and say I'm a little disappointed they didn't send somebody," said committee chair Chad Callander.
}}
In the 2016/2017 Annual Report for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, the British Columbia Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner cited ongoing concerns with the collection of identifying information by police, and expressed an expectation that either the Vancouver Police Board or the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia would create a policy on carding.{{Cite web
| title = Independent Expert to Examine Police Street Check Data
| url = https://opcc.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2016-2017-OPCC-Annual-Report.pdf
| publisher = Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (British Columbia)
| date = 2017-11-18
| access-date = 2018-06-27
| quote = As such, the Police Complaint Commissioner was hopeful that the Vancouver Police Board would adopt a comprehensive policy with broad application to a variety of policing circumstances that strikes a reasonable balance between the rights of citizens and the goals of policing. The Police Complaint Commissioner was of the view that the only other viable alternative was to seek assistance from the legislature, as exemplified in Ontario, and currently under consideration in Alberta.
}} On June 14, 2018, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer ordered an investigation into complaints from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs that carding practices are unfairly targeting minorities. A public report will be submitted to the Vancouver Police Board September 20, 2018.{{Cite news
| title = VPD conducting own probe into complaint that minorities overrepresented in 'street checks'
| first = Mike
| last = Howell
| url = https://www.vancourier.com/news/vpd-conducting-own-probe-into-complaint-that-minorities-overrepresented-in-street-checks-1.23370707
| publisher = Vancouver Courier
| date = 2018-07-17
| access-date = 2018-08-12
| quote = That investigation, which was ordered by Police Chief Adam Palmer last month, will conclude with a public report and go before the Vancouver Police Board's service and policy complaints review committee Sept. 20.
}}
On September 18, 2017, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission selected an independent expert,{{Cite web
| title = Independent Expert to Examine Police Street Check Data
| url = https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20170918003
| publisher = Province of Nova Scotia
| date = 2017-09-18
| access-date = 2018-06-08
| quote = Scot Wortley has been selected by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission as the independent expert to examine police street check data related to persons of African descent.
}} Dr. Scot Wortley, of the University of Toronto Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies to undertake an investigation into the Halifax Regional Police Service's use of street checks and the impact such checks may have on the Black community, the final report is expected in the Fall of 2018.{{Cite web
| title = Update of Research Activities -- Street Check Investigation
| url = https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/boards-committees-commissions/171211BOPC732pres.pdf
| publisher = City of Halifax
| date = 2017-11-13
| access-date = 2018-06-08
| quote = This investigation was officially launched on September 18th, 2017. There are plans to table the final report in the Fall of 2018.
}} On March 27, 2019, the Halifax, Nova Scotia: Street Checks Report was tabled at the Halifax Central Library.{{Cite web
| title = Halifax, Nova Scotia: Street Checks Report
| url = https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/editor-uploads/halifax_street_checks_report_march_2019_0.pdf
| publisher = Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
| date = 2019-03-27
| access-date = 2019-06-15
| quote = Scot Wortley has been selected by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission as the independent expert to examine police street check data related to persons of African descent.
}} The report notes that "Every year from 2006 to 2017, Black people have been five to six times more likely to appear in street check statistics than their representation in the general population would predict."
On June 6, 2018, the Saskatchewan Police Commission created policy OC 150 Contact Interviews with the Public, which constrains carding based on an individual's race or location.{{Cite news
| first = Ryan
| last = McKenna
| title = Saskatchewan Police Commission brings in new policy on carding
| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-saskatchewan-police-commission-brings-in-new-policy-on-carding/
| publisher = The Globe and Mail
| date = 2018-06-06
| access-date = 2018-06-26
| quote = The police commission is bringing in a new policy which spells out that people can't be stopped based on their race or just because they are in a high-crime area.
}} On September 21, 2018, Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper rejected requests from University of Saskatchewan law professor Glen Luther to record the race of carded individuals, stating "We know that people and agencies that have tried to do that get a lot of inaccurate data because it relies on the officer's description and perception of race, and that's often inaccurate".{{Cite news
| first = Ryan
| last = McKenna
| title = Saskatchewan Police Commission brings in new policy on carding
| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-police-indigenous-carding-people-1.4833403
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2018-09-21
| access-date = 2018-09-25
| quote = We know that people and agencies that have tried to do that get a lot of inaccurate data because it relies on the officer's description and perception of race, and that's often inaccurate.
}} On October 5, 2018, Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper stated that Saskatoon police officers will soon be trained in how to conduct contact interviews.{{Cite news
| first = Andrea
| last = Hill
| title = Saskatoon police developing local training plan for contact interviews
| url = https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saskatoon-police-developing-local-training-plan-for-contact-interviews
| publisher = Saskatoon StarPhoenix
| date = 2018-09-21
| access-date = 2018-12-01
| quote = Saskatoon police officers will soon be trained in how to conduct contact interviews — a practice colloquially referred to as carding or street checks — but the instruction won't involve officers reading from a standardized script.
}}
In 2017, the Edmonton Police Association published an open letter to the city of Edmonton defending carding.{{Cite news|last=Huncar|first=Andrea|date=July 5, 2017|title=Edmonton Police Association defends street checks|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-police-association-cory-huculak-carding-1.4190512}} CBC news stated that the letter was written "in response to recent data obtained by CBC Edmonton showing Edmonton police from 2012 to 2016 disproportionately stopped, questioned and documented people of colour who were not suspected of a crime." On June 27, 2018, the Edmonton Police Commission released the City of Edmonton Street Check Policy and Practice Review prepared by Curt Griffiths of the Simon Fraser University School of Criminology.{{Cite news
| first = Kevin
| last = Maimann
| title = Report urges Edmonton police to 'evolve' street-check practices
| url = https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2018/06/27/edmonton-police-will-continue-but-evolve-street-checks-after-review.html
| publisher = Toronto Star
| date = 2018-06-07
| access-date = 2018-07-28
| quote = The Edmonton Police Commission released its "Street Check Policy and Practice Review" Wednesday.
| title = City of Edmonton Street Check Policy and Practice Review (Redacted)
| url = https://www.edmontonpolicecommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/EPS-Street-Check-Study-Final-REDACTED.pdf
| publisher = Edmonton Police Commission
| date = 2018-06-27
| access-date = 2018-07-28
| quote = Over the past decade, the police practice of street checks has been the focus of considerable controversy and has been a flashpoint for the larger issues of racial profiling and biased policing.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180717174640/https://www.edmontonpolicecommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/EPS-Street-Check-Study-Final-REDACTED.pdf
| archive-date = 2018-07-17
| url-status = dead
}} On October 29, 2018, the Edmonton Police Service responded to the street check review. In this response, the service provided implementation dates for 7 of the 17 recommendations.{{Cite web
| title = EPS response to recommendations
| url = https://www.edmontonpolicecommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/5.6-EPC-Street-Check-Review-EPS-Response-to-Recommendations.pdf
| publisher = Edmonton Police Commission
| date = 2017-10-29
| access-date = 2018-11-28
| quote = This is an update on EPS responses to recommendations outlined in the Edmonton Commission Street Check Review Report submitted by Dr. Curt Griffiths
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181129054328/https://www.edmontonpolicecommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/5.6-EPC-Street-Check-Review-EPS-Response-to-Recommendations.pdf
| archive-date = 2018-11-29
| url-status = dead
}}
On December 31, 2018, the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General released the Report of the Independent Street Checks Review 2018 prepared by Judge Michael H. Tulloch of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.{{Cite news
| first = Jacques
| last = Gallant
| title = Police carding should be banned in Ontario, independent review says
| url = https://www.thestar.com/amp/news/gta/2018/12/31/police-carding-should-be-banned-in-ontario-independent-review-says.html
| publisher = Toronto Star
| date = 2018-12-31
| access-date = 2019-01-03
| quote = The report was prepared by Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, who was tapped by the former Liberal government in 2017 to conduct a review of its new provincial regulation on carding — the stopping and documenting of citizens not suspected of a crime.
}}
On January 4, 2019, the Ontario Provincial Police Association issued a press release stating that "racism and arbitrary street checks have no place in policing".{{Cite web
| title = OPP Association Responds to Report from the Independent Street Check Review
| url = https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/opp-association-responds-to-report-from-the-independent-street-check-review-836444024.html
| publisher = Ontario Provincial Police Association
| date = 2019-01-04
| access-date = 2019-01-11
| quote = In response, OPPA President Jamieson was clear that while racism and arbitrary street checks have no place in policing, he and his members fully believe that lawful, properly conducted street checks are vitally important to the safety of officers and the communities they police, while further supporting victims of crime.
}}
On March 13, 2019, the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners placed a request to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission to review the legality of police street checks;{{Cite web
| title = Street Checks Legal Opinion
| url = https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/boards-committees-commissions/190617bopc711_0.pdf
| publisher = Halifax Regional Municipality
| date = 2019-03-13
| access-date = 2019-06-15
| quote = We will be working with stakeholders in the coming weeks to outline the terms of reference for the legal opinion and will certainly share a copy of the opinion with the board as soon as the work is completed.
}} the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission confirmed that J. Michael MacDonald, former Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, agreed to help with the review.
Regulation
On 16 June 2015, Ontario announced that it will develop a new regulation to regulate police street checks. The Ministry of the Solicitor General has held a series of five workshop-style public meetings across the province:{{Cite web
| title = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services::Public Consultations
| url = http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/PublicConsultations/mcscs_pc.aspx
| publisher = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
| date = 2015-08-25
| access-date = 2015-09-27
| quote = The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is working to regulate police street checks and is seeking input from members of the public.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150927082021/http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/PublicConsultations/mcscs_pc.aspx
| archive-date = 2015-09-27
| url-status = dead
}}
22 October 2015, during debate in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Yasir Naqvi, minister of community safety and correctional services, announced that regulation banning random street checks would be in place by the end of the fall, and will become part of the Police Services Act, and includes:{{cite news
| first = San
| last = Grewal
| title = Random or arbitrary police carding will stop, province says
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/10/23/random-or-arbitrary-police-carding-will-stop-province-says.html
| work = Urban Affairs
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2015-10-23
| access-date = 2015-10-23
| quote = We as a government stand opposed, Speaker, to any arbitrary, random stops by the police simply to collect information when there are no grounds or reason to do so...
}}
- Stronger guidelines for police who conduct street checks as part of an investigation or because of suspicious activity.
- Rules guaranteeing that charter rights are protected for anyone who is checked.
- Clear rules on how police can collect carding data, use the data, as well as the length of time the data can be stored.
On 28 October 2015, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, posted two draft regulations for public input on the random and arbitrary collection of identifying information by police.{{Cite web
| title = Summary of Draft Regulation on Carding and Street Checks
| url = https://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2015/10/summary-of-draft-regulation-on-carding-and-street-checks.html
| publisher = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
| date = October 28, 2015
| access-date = April 4, 2016
| quote = The province has posted two draft regulations for public input on the random and arbitrary collection of identifying information by police, referred to as carding or street checks, one new and one amended.
}} On 30 November 2015, a coalition of community organisations and individuals issued a joint response to the draft regulation, articulating a rights-based framework for policing aimed at prohibiting carding, which they deemed discriminatory against minorities in Canada.{{Cite web
| title = A JOINT RESPONSE TO ONTARIO DRAFT REGULATION "COLLECTION OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES – PROHIBITION AND DUTIES"
| url = http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/criminology/tank/documents/2015-11-24-Joint%20Position%20re%20Regulation%20on%20Carding%20FINAL.pdf
| date = November 30, 2015
| access-date = April 4, 2016
| quote = The signatories to this Joint Statement recognise the value of legitimate non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory policing, and call on the Ministry to allow for such policing, while protecting individuals' fundamental rights.
| archive-date = February 5, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160205222429/http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/criminology/tank/documents/2015-11-24-Joint%20Position%20re%20Regulation%20on%20Carding%20FINAL.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
On 8 December 2015, the Ontario Association of Chief of Police's Board of Directors unanimously passed a submission on Proposed Regulations to the Police Services Act: "Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties" and Proposed Amendments to the Schedule to O.Reg. 268/10 (Code of Conduct).{{Cite web
| title = Submission on Proposed Regulations to The Police Services Act: "Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties" And Proposed Amendments to the Schedule to O.Reg. 268/10 (Code of Conduct)
| url = http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/news-and-community/resources/streetchecks/Street_Checks_Submission_to_Minister_Y_Naqvi.pdf
| publisher = Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP)
| date = December 8, 2015
| access-date = April 4, 2016
| quote = Information collected forms part of a Police Record. Police Records are operational records and are under the authority of the Chief of Police pursuant to the Municipal Act, s. 255(6). Police Services Boards properly do not have domain over operational records as a result.
| archive-date = April 16, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160416112602/http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/news-and-community/resources/streetchecks/Street_Checks_Submission_to_Minister_Y_Naqvi.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
On 21 March 2016, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, filed Ontario Regulation 58/16: Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties,{{Cite web
| title = ONTARIO REGULATION 58/16: COLLECTION OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES – PROHIBITION AND DUTIES
| url = https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r16058
| publisher = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
| date = March 21, 2016
| access-date = April 1, 2016
| quote = The province has filed final regulations on the arbitrary collection of identifying information by police, referred to as carding or street checks.
}} which sets out rules for carding. The Government of Ontario will also launch a multi-year academic study on the impact of carding.{{Cite web
| title = Ontario Prohibits Carding And Street Checks, Sets Out New Rules For Police Interactions
| url = https://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2016/03/ontario-prohibits-carding-and-street-checks-sets-out-new-rules-for-police-interactions.html
| publisher = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
| date = 2016-03-22
| access-date = 2016-04-01
| quote = The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services will also launch a multi-year academic study to better understand the impact on community safety from collecting identifying information through police interactions with the public.
}}
On 24 March 2016, the African Canadian Legal Clinic, issued a press release stating that the new regulation "fails to fully and finally provide adequate protection for the fundamental rights and freedoms of African Canadians".{{Cite web
| title = ONTARIO CHOOSES BAND-AID INSTEAD OF BANNING CARDING
| url = http://ocasi.org/sites/default/files/ACLC_Press_Release_Carding_Regulations_A_Band_Aid_March_24_2016_0.pdf
| publisher = AFRICAN CANADIAN LEGAL CLINIC
| date = March 24, 2016
| access-date = June 20, 2016
| quote = this Regulation fails to fully and finally provide adequate protection for the fundamental rights and freedoms of African Canadians, as they do not prohibit anti-Black racism and racial profiling in the collection of individuals' identifying information.
}}
On 12 April 2016, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Police Association, issued a memo to its membership stating that the new regulation is "counterproductive to proactive community engagement and crime prevention".{{Cite web
| title = READ: The Toronto Police Association's memo on anti-racism
| url = http://www.newstalk1010.com/news/2016/04/13/read-the-toronto-police-associations-memo-on-anti-racism
| publisher = Board of Directors of the Toronto Police Association
| date = April 12, 2016
| access-date = April 18, 2016
| quote = Furthermore, the regulation is counterproductive to proactive community engagement and crime prevention and forces a reactive model of policing.
}}
On 17 November 2016, the Toronto Police Services Board revised policy 250: Regulated Interaction with the Community and the Collection of Identifying Information
to ensure compliance with Ontario Regulation 58/16, the Police Services Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). In addition the policy restricted service members from accessing Historical Contact Data, except as needed to
provide an auditable trail as required by law (e.g. evidence in a matter before the courts).{{Cite web
| title = Draft Minutes of the meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board held on November 17, 2016
| url = http://www.tpsb.ca/component/jdownloads/send/8-2016/542-november-17
| publisher = Toronto Police Services Board
| date = November 17, 2016
| access-date = December 20, 2016
| quote = it is recommended that the Board approve the attached revised Board policy entitled "Regulated Interaction with the Community and the Collection of Identifying Information"
}}
On 17 May 2017, the Ministry of the Solicitor General appointed Justice Michael Tulloch of the Ontario Court of Appeal to conduct an independent review of Ontario Regulation 58/16.{{Cite web
| title = Order in Council 1058/2017
| url = https://www.ontario.ca/orders-in-council/oc-10582017
| publisher = Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
| date = May 17, 2017
| access-date = June 22, 2017
| quote = the Honourable Michael Tulloch, a Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal, is hereby appointed as the Independent Reviewer of Ontario Regulation 58/16
}} Tulloch's report into the challenges and validity of police carding is expected to be produced in January 2019.{{Cite web
| title = 'Street check' or 'well-being check'? Police carding case comes at key juncture in Ontario
| author = Molly Hayes
| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/carding-ruling-to-come-at-critical-point-for-policing-regulations/article37013729/
| publisher = The Globe and Mail
| date = 2017-11-16
| access-date = 2017-12-01
| quote = A review is now being done by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, who will produce a report by January, 2019, into the challenges and validity of carding as a policing tool
}} As part of this review, twelve public consultations are to be held between 1 February 2018 and 23 April 2018 in the Greater Toronto Area, and in Thunder Bay, Brampton, Hamilton, Ajax, Markham, Windsor, London, Ottawa and Sudbury.{{cite news
| title = Judge to hold carding public consultations across Ontario
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/carding-public-consultations-ontario-1.4480529
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2019-01-10
| access-date = 2018-01-18
| quote = The public consultations will be held between February 1st and April 23rd. Three will be held in the Toronto area and the others will be in Thunder Bay, Brampton, Hamilton, Ajax, Markham, Windsor, London, Ottawa and Sudbury.
}}
On 24 August 2017, Kathleen Ganley, as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, announced that the government will begin a six-week consultation process for drafting provincial guidelines for police street checks and the associated collection of personally identifiable information.{{Cite report
| title = Community groups to be consulted on street checks
| url = https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=48465CFB580CF-EFBE-FD63-A720854DA558A76C
| publisher = Legislative Assembly of Alberta
| date = 2017-08-24
| access-date = 2017-12-24
| quote = After the feedback has been received, the government will work on a draft guideline. Before the guideline is finalized, the province will conduct further consultations.
}} On 3 February 2019, David Khan, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, expressed disappointment that after 18 month, this process has not yet produced tangible results.{{cite news
| first = Kevin
| last = Maimann
| title = The province promised a review of street checks 18 months ago. Where is it?
| url = https://www.thestar.com/amp/edmonton/2019/02/03/the-province-promised-a-review-of-street-checks-18-months-ago-where-is-it.html
| work = StarMetro Edmonton
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2019-02-03
| access-date = 2019-02-06
| quote = Eighteen months is just far too long for a government to fail to act. Especially when the justice minister promised to act on this issue a year and a half ago and nothing's happened.
}}
On 18 September 2017, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission hired University of Toronto criminology professor Scot Wortley, to conduct an independent review of street checks conducted by the Halifax Regional Police.{{cite news
| first = Jacob
| last = Boon
| title = Toronto criminology professor hired to study Halifax police street checks
| url = https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/toronto-criminology-professor-hired-to-study-halifax-police-street-checks/Content?oid=9577810
| work = The Coast
| publisher = TheCoast.ca
| date = 2019-09-18
| access-date = 2019-02-06
| quote = The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has hired one of the country's leading experts on racial bias in policing for an independent review of police street checks.
}} The deadline for releasing findings was originally 7 January 2019, but this release has been postponed until 27 March 2019.{{cite news
| first = Jacob
| last = Boon
| title = Street check report delayed until March
| url = https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/street-check-report-delayed-until-march/Content?oid=20420799
| work = The Coast
| publisher = TheCoast.ca
| date = 2019-01-31
| access-date = 2019-02-06
| quote = Jeff Overmars, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, says the report will be released March 27.
}}
On 4 October 2017, Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa—Vanier) introduced a private member's bill (Bill 164, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017),{{Cite web
| title = Bill 164, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017
| url = http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=5136
| publisher = Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario
| date = 2017-10-04
| access-date = 2017-12-01
| quote = The bill amends the Human Rights Code to include immigration status, genetic characteristics, police records and social conditions as prohibited grounds of discrimination. The purpose of this bill, if passed, is to ensure that the Human Rights Code counters new forms of discrimination that some Ontarians face; namely, discrimination on the basis of their immigration status or their genetic characteristics, police records or social conditions.
| archive-date = 2017-12-02
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171202102815/http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=5136
| url-status = dead
}} which expands human rights protections in a number of ways, including making it illegal to discriminate against individuals that have been carded by police.{{Cite web
| title = Lawyers laud proposed additions to Ontario Human Rights Code, but say more change needed
| author = Terry Davidson
| url = https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/4864
| publisher = The Lawyer's Daily
| date = 2017-10-12
| access-date = 2017-12-01
| quote = It's also going to protect people who are charged but not convicted, or found not guilty, and it's going to protect people who have interactions with police for mental health reasons, for example, whether it's a check for mental health issues ... or if someone is carded at the side of the road.
}}
On 6 June 2018, the Saskatchewan Police Commission issued policy OC150 - Contact Interviews with the Public.{{Cite web
| title = Policy Manual for Saskatchewan Municipal Police Services (Part 2)
| url = https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/74042/formats/82922/download
| publisher = Saskatchewan Police Commission
| date = June 6, 2018
| access-date = January 4, 2020
| pages = 21–24
| quote = In conducting Contact Interviews, members must always be conscious of the fact they are a voluntary interaction between the public and the member.
}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
On 28 March 2019, the Attorney General and Justice Minister of Nova Scotia Mark Furey, issued a provincial moratorium on street check quotas, and the use of street checks as a performance measurement tool{{Cite web
| title = follow up on the release of the Wortley Report
| url = https://novascotia.ca/street-checks/Minister-Directive-Street-Checks-March-2018.pdf
| publisher = Government of Nova Scotia
| date = March 28, 2019
| access-date = December 1, 2019
| quote = Any use of street checks as part of a quota system, formally or informally, shall cease.
}} On 17 April 2019, Furey, issued a provincial moratorium on street checks.{{Cite web
| title = Minister's Directive under the Nova Scotia Police Act
| url = https://novascotia.ca/street-checks/Minister-Directive-Street-Checks-April-2018.pdf
| publisher = Government of Nova Scotia
| date = April 17, 2019
| access-date = July 5, 2019
| quote = There shall be an immediate moratorium on street checks of pedestrians and passengers.
}}
15 January 2020, the Attorney General of British Columbia introduced interim section 6.2.1 of the Provincial Policing Standards, requiring the police board or, in the case of the provincial police force, the commissioner, must officers with written policy that ensures interactions with community members, remain consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the values they reflect.{{cite web
| first =
| last =
| title = Provincial Policing Standards
| url = https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/police/standards/6-2-1-police-stops.pdf
| publisher = Ministry of Attorney General, Province of British Columbia
| date = 2020-01-15
| access-date = 2020-06-03
| quote = The police board or, in the case of the provincial police force, the commissioner, must ensure that:(1) Written policy recognizes the responsibility of police officers to ensure that their interactions with community members, while critical to fulfilling their duties, must be consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (sections 7, 9, 10 and 15) and the values they reflect, including the right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention; to move freely in society subject only to reasonable restrictions imposed by law; and to equal protection and benefit of the law, without discrimination.
}}
On 7 April 2021, the Justice Minister of Alberta Kaycee Madu introduced Bill 63, the Police (Street Checks and Carding) Amendment Act, 2021.{{cite web
| first =
| last =
| title = Bill 63: Police (Street Checks and Carding) Amendment Act, 2021
| url = https://www.assembly.ab.ca/assembly-business/bills/bill?billinfoid=11907
| publisher = Legislative Assembly of Alberta
| date = 2021-04-07
| access-date = 2021-05-07
| quote = Mr. Speaker, these amendments to the Police Act will allow for the creation of a regulation that will formalize the ban on carding and the rules for street checks that were introduced in November 2020.
}}
Responses
In 2015, Christien Levien, a law school graduate, created Legalswipe, an app that draws from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's "know your rights" handbook, and guides people through police encounters.{{cite news
| first = Marco Chown
| last = Oved
| title = Lawyer-in-your-pocket app helps during police carding
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/07/02/lawyer-in-your-pocket-app-helps-during-police-carding.html
| work = Foreign Affairs
| publisher = TheStar.com
| date = 2015-07-02
| access-date = 2016-07-03
| quote = This is a primarily tool for legal education. I hope that people are educating themselves prior to any given interaction, so they know what their rights are
}}
On 17 January 2017, University of Toronto criminologists Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner presented a report "Understanding the impact of Police Stops" to the Toronto Police Services Board, among the conclusions was that benefits from carding are "substantially outweighed by convincing evidence of the harm of such practices both to the person subject to them and to the long term and overall relationship of the police to the community".{{cite web
| first1 = Anthony
| last1 = Doob
| first2 = Rosemary
| last2 = Gartner
| title = Understanding the impact of Police Stops
| url = http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DoobGartnerPoliceStopsReport-17Jan2017r.pdf
| publisher = Toronto Police Services Board
| date = 2017-01-17
| access-date = 2017-05-20
| quote = But the evidence that it is useful to stop, question, identify, and/or search people and to record and store this information simply because the police and citizens "are there" appears to us to be substantially outweighed by convincing evidence of the harm of such practices both to the person subject to them and to the long term and overall relationship of the police to the community.
| archive-date = 2017-05-18
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170518195127/http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DoobGartnerPoliceStopsReport-17Jan2017r.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
In April 2021, the Native Counselling Services of Alberta released a wallet-sized card to help Indigenous people know their rights if stopped by police{{cite news
| first = Stephanie
| last = Dubois
| title = New 'statement to police' card for Indigenous people released in Alberta
| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/statement-to-police-card-1.5997169
| work = Edmonton
| publisher = CBC News
| date = 2021-04-21
| access-date = 2021-05-07
| quote = This is basically to help, especially in interactions with the police where it's potentially a crisis, or you get flustered or caught off guard, to just have what you need to say there, so police also know that there are responsibilities on both sides
}}
Variants
- In 2016, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, British Columbia, raised concerns that the Vancouver Police Department's Restaurant Watch program, also known as Bar Watch or the Inadmissible Patron Program, is a new form of street check or carding.{{cite report
| author = Stan T. Lowe
| date = 2016-08-29
| title = 2015/2016 Annual Report for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
| url = https://www.opcc.bc.ca/publications/annual_reports/2015-2016_OPCC_Annual_Report.pdf
| publisher = Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, British Columbia
| edition =
| location =
| chapter =
| section = Appendix: Recommendation to Police Boards
| page =
| pages = 62–65
| docket = Registered Complaint – 2015-10584-01
| access-date = 2016-09-28
| quote = The Commissioner is concerned with a practice of demanding government-issued identification absent a legislated or common law authority to do so, as such a practice may be considered akin to a street check or "carding"...
}}
- On June 13, 2019, Jamal Boyce, a conflict studies and human rights student at the University of Ottawa, was carded and handcuffed by campus security for over two hours for not having identification.{{cite news
|author=Matt Gergyek |author2=Mar Khorkhordina |author3=Iain Sellers
| title = U of O launches racism inquiry after Black student carded, handcuffed by campus security
| url = https://thefulcrum.ca/news/u-of-o-launches-racism-inquiry-after-black-student-carded-handcuffed-by-campus-security/
| publisher = The Fulcrum
| date = June 14, 2019
| access-date = June 2, 2020
| quote = A video posted by Boyce then shows him being followed by campus security officers who are repeatedly asking for identification. He says he told officers he was walking to get his wallet in his office.
}} In response, on September 4, 2019, University of Ottawa President and Vice-Chancellor Jacques Frémont announced the revision of Policy 33, Section 8, which permits campus security to request proof of identity from people on campus.{{cite press release
| author =
| title = uOttawa implements four measures to promote a racism and discrimination-free campus
| url = https://media.uottawa.ca/news/uottawa-implements-four-measures-promote-racism-and-discrimination-free-campus
| location =
| publisher =
| agency = University of Ottawa
| date = September 4, 2020
| access-date = April 22, 2020
}}
- As of March 31, 2020, Ontario Regulation 114/20{{cite web
|url= https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r20114
|title= O. Reg. 114/20: ORDER UNDER SUBSECTION 7.0.2 (4) OF THE ACT - ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS filed March 31, 2020 under Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9
|author=
|date= March 31, 2020
|website= Government of Ontario
|access-date= 2020-06-24
|quote=Every individual who is required under subsection (1) to provide a provincial offences officer with their correct name, date of birth and address shall promptly comply.
}} made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act requires individuals to provide identification upon demand from a provincial offences officer, which includes police officers, First Nations constables, special constables and municipal by-law enforcement officers, failing to correctly identify oneself carries a fine of $750.{{cite press release
| author =
| title = Public Required to Identify Themselves if Charged with Breaching an Emergency Order During the COVID-19 Outbreak
| url = https://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2020/03/public-required-to-identify-themselves-if-charged-with-breaching-an-emergency-order-during-the-covid.doc
| format = doc
| location =
| publisher =
| agency = Ministry of the Solicitor General
| date = March 31, 2020
| access-date = April 22, 2020
}} The Toronto Star reported that some saw this a signaling a return to police carding.{{Cite news
| first = Francine
| last = Kopun
| title = $750 for doing chin ups in a park. Sitting on benches banned. Do emergency measures go too far?
| url = https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2020/04/18/750-for-doing-chin-ups-in-a-park-sitting-on-benches-banned-do-emergency-measures-go-too-far.html
| publisher = Toronto Star
| date = April 18, 2020
| access-date = April 22, 2020
| quote = He wants to see statistics on who is being stopped, especially since under provincial emergency measures, police officers are once again allowed to stop people and ask for their identification – seen by some as a return to carding.
}} Unless it is extended, The order was revoked on June 30, 2020.{{cite web
|url= https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200114
|title= O. Reg. 114/20: ORDER UNDER SUBSECTION 7.0.2 (4) OF THE ACT - ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS filed March 31, 2020 under Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9
|author=
|date= March 31, 2020
|website= Government of Ontario
|access-date= 2020-06-24
|quote=Note: This Order is revoked on June 30, 2020, unless it is extended. (See s. 7.0.8 of the Act and O. Reg. 106/20, Sched. 1)
}}
- On June 10, 2020, New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Carl Urquhart introduced Bill 49 - An Act to Amend the Emergency Measures Act. Section 7 augmented police authority to allow officers to stop, investigate, and document individuals without reason.{{cite web
|url= https://www.gnb.ca/legis/bill/FILE/59/3/Bill-49-e.htm
|title= Bill 49 - An Act to Amend the Emergency Measures Act
|author=
|date= June 10, 2020
|website= Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
|access-date= 2020-06-28
|quote=On a state of emergency being declared in respect to the Province or an area of the Province, a person authorized to exercise the powers and duties of a peace officer under an act, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or a police officer as defined in the Police Act may require a person to stop in order to investigate whether or not there has been a violation or a failure to comply with a direction, order or requirement made under this Act or the regulations and may require the person to provide documentation as part of that investigation.
}} In response to widespread criticism, on June 15, 2020, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, announced that the government would no longer proceed with Bill 49.{{Cite news
| first = Jacques
| last = Poitras
| title = Higgs scraps legislation to increase emergency powers of government and police
| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/blaine-higgs-bill-police-power-emergency-1.5612774
| publisher = CBC News
| date = June 15, 2020
| access-date = June 28, 2020
| quote = Premier Blaine Higgs told reporters Monday afternoon the controversial legislation, Bill 49, would not proceed when the legislature resumes Tuesday.
}}
- In Alberta, under the Traffic Safety Act, peace officers have the right to, without any reason, stop pedestrians using or located on a highway and request their names and addresses. They also have the right to arrest without a warrant anyone who fails to comply with "section 166(4) relating to the requirement that a pedestrian furnish to a peace officer who is readily identifiable as a peace officer the pedestrian's name and address when so required by the peace officer".{{Cite canlaw
|link = https://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/t06.pdf
|short title = Traffic Safety Act
|abbr = Revised Statutes of Alberta
|year = 2000
|chapter = T-6
|section = 166(4), 169(2)(p)
}} There is a similar provision for passengers of vehicles. However, they need only provide their names and addresses, and may refuse requests for other information.
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104061312/http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/sites/default/files/content/mcscs/docs/StreetChecks.pdf/ |date=2019-01-04 |title=Report of the Independent Street Checks Review 2018 }}
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331015406/https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/editor-uploads/halifax_street_checks_report_march_2019_0.pdf/ |date=2019-03-31 |title=Halifax, Nova Scotia: Street Checks Report 2019 }}
- [https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Know-Your-Rights-Booklet.pdf Canadian Civil Liberties Association's "know your rights" handbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206172103/https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Know-Your-Rights-Booklet.pdf |date=2017-12-06 }}
- [http://www.legalswipe.com/ Legalswipe]
- [https://streetchecksreview.ca/ Independent Street Checks Review]
Category:Law enforcement terminology
Category:Toronto Police Service
Category:Law enforcement in Canada
Category:Race-related controversies
Category:Controversies in Canada