Black residents in Hamilton forming advisory panel about policing concerns
CBC
Members of the Black community in Hamilton are looking to form an advisory panel to "address, respond and prioritize" concerns about policing in the city, according to the executive director of Hamilton's Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC).
Lyndon George says it's borne out of years of discussions within the community, but accelerated this year after HARRC hosted a town hall in February.
The panel would see Black residents meet monthly and bring questions to the police service and board.
"There are efforts underway to try and support community," George told CBC Hamilton.
He pointed to Peel Regional Police's community-led anti-racism advisory committee, which came after the Ontario Human Rights Commission made 64 recommendations to tackle systemic racism in the police service.
George said the Hamilton panel is still in its early stages and there's work underway to formalize its own memorandum of understanding with police.
Black people are the most common victims of hate in Hamilton, while also being the most over-represented group of people when it comes to police's use of force, according to data from recent years.
Hamilton police released 2023 hate crime data last week that showed Black people were the most common victims of hate incidents with a racial bias, which has also been true in years past.
The police service's use of force data from 2022, released last year, also showed Black people were on the receiving end of 17.2 per cent of all use of force incidents in 2022, despite representing only five per cent of Hamilton's population — it was described in the report as a "gross over-representation."
At the time it was released, police said the disparity in the data didn't equal discrimination but have since apologized and said it "does not always equal discrimination."
The police service declined an interview but told CBC Hamilton in an email it has had formal and informal meetings with members of the Black community in Hamilton since 2021, including multiple meetings for a Hate Crime Case Review Team and a community advisory panel set to inform the police service's new race-based data strategy. Both initiatives are still in development.
George says Black residents have raised concerns about both initiatives and have made suggestions — one of which is that both the review team and the race-based advisory panel should be independent from the police service.
But he says community members don't feel heard.
"The police often are not addressing community concerns but rolling out plans based on what they believe is in the community's best interest. That's been the struggle," George said.
