Carding across Canada: Data show practice of ‘street checks’ lacks mandated set of procedures

Good comparative report from the Globe on street checks:

A Globe and Mail analysis found the practice lacks a mandated set of procedures after 21 Canadian police forces answered questions about interacting with community members in their respective jurisdictions. Most spoke willingly with The Globe, but some, including Winnipeg and Calgary, refused to respond to questions on the matter.

The practice typically involves an officer stopping a community member, questioning them and entering information into a computer database.

By speaking to forces around the country, The Globe found the following:

• On average, in 2014 police forces that spoke with The Globe had stopped 0.86 per cent of their jurisdiction’s 2011 population.
• The majority of police forces that disclosed to The Globe the length of time they keep records on community members who are stopped and questioned reported keeping records indefinitely.
• All but two police forces interviewed by The Globe have no formal procedure in place to guide interactions between officers and community members who are stopped and questioned.
• Most police forces in Canada call the practice a “street check.”
• Most police forces in Canada use records management system Versaterm Inc.

The cities that did not respond to the survey (why?) include: Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Waterloo, Durham region, and Fredericton.

Carding across Canada: Data show practice of ‘street checks’ lacks mandated set of procedures – The Globe and Mail.