On the Selection of the Next Police Chief

On the Selection of the Next Police Chief

Statement of the Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ)

(Submitted to the Toronto Police Services Board at a public consultation held on Feb. 10, 2005 at Scarborough Civic Centre where members of CASJ and Justice for Jeffrey Coalition attended. Joel Reodica of J4J also submitted a statement.)

The Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ) takes this opportunity on the occasion of the Toronto Police Services Board’s public consult-ations regarding the selection of the next chief of police, to put forward the concerns of the Filipino community on the issue of policing in Toronto.

Our community is still grieving and struggling to find justice for the death of 17-year-old Jeffrey Reodica.  As the fourth largest visible minority community in Canada, we want to see a police force that works towards improving its relationship with the diverse communities of Toronto.

Based on the recommendations that came out of our conference held on October 30, 2004 at Metro Hall, the following are what we see should be the priorities of  the Toronto Police Service.

1.  Committing to ongoing diversity and equity training for all police personnel and especially for police officers.

2. Establishing a system of accountability for the actions of its members.

a.  Document and monitor the status of officers who have a history of violence, and provide appropriate disciplinary action.

b.  Examine the practice of allowing plainclothes police officers to respond to 911 calls.

c.  Require police officers to wear name badges.

3. Restructuring of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) so that it reflects our communities especially in its composition.  We recommend that the SIU be composed of civilians, and not ex-police officers.  Just like other services in the city, we want the Police Services Board to listen to civilian complaints with the common goal of improving its services.

4. Demonstrating equality in dealing with crimes committed by the police and those committed by civilians.

Further to this,

5. Training officers to work towards de-escalating violence in crisis situations, as opposed to using lethal force.

6.Examining the role and effectiveness of Community Relations Officers assigned to work in different ethnic communities.

7. Conducting more outreach to youth, especially since a portion of the Police Services budget has supposedly been allocated for this.  The formation of a youth advisory committee to the Police Services Board should be part of this.

The new police chief should then be someone who would be open to the implementation of these recommendations – someone who is sensitive to the needs of diverse and marginalized communities, regards him/herself as accountable to the public, and is fair in dealing with members of the police force and the public.

Reference: Mithi Esguerra, Youth Committee, Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ),  c/o Kababayan Community Centre, 1313 Queen Street West, Suite 133 Toronto, ON  M6K 1L8, Telephone:  (416) 461-8694, E-mail:  casj_canada@yahoo.ca