Press release: The Nova Scotia Policing Policy Working Group is deeply concerned by some of the claims that representatives of Halifax Regional Police, including Chief Dan Kinsella, made yesterday in their presentation to the Board of Police Commissioners regarding the implementation of body-worn cameras (BWCs) across the police force.
It would be good to know how many African Nova Scotians are being targeted as police get more aggressive in enforcing COVID-19 regulations, and how that number compares to the white population. It was exactly to answer these questions that Dr. Wortley recommended that the police track race-based data on all interactions with citizens. However, we will never know, as work on that recommendation hasn’t even started.
Wayne Desmond takes a closer look at two occasions where Walmart security staff and Halifax police officers harassed Black shoppers, and suggests a pathway to justice. Sue the bastards!
A recent human rights case, launched by Gyasi Symonds after being racially profiled by Halifax police, is a showcase for all that is wrong with the way the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (NSHRC) deals with human rights complaints and complainants.
Media release: We are angered and deeply saddened by the news of Serrece Winter’s mistreatment by Nova Scotia’s criminal justice system.
Dr. Jamie Livingston: “As a criminologist, I’ve studied issues at the intersection of the mental health and policing systems for a decade and have been aware of the Nova Scotia approach for almost as long. It seems to me that the Nova Scotia mental health crisis response model has been frozen in time, refusing to evolve and innovate as new approaches, evidence, and demands emerge.”
Tony Smith, who was hired by SIRT to provide a Black perspective to counterbalance an entirely white investigative team, believes the Santina Rao investigation was seriously flawed and that the report’s conclusions were incorrect.
It’s ok to violently assault a young Black mother, as long as she gets upset when she is accused of shoplifting. That’s the conclusion of the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) report on the arrest of Santina Rao at the Walmart in Halifax in January.
On September 8, 2020, the NS PPWG circulated a questionnaire to all declared mayoral and Council candidates running in the upcoming election. The questionnaire asked 13 substantive questions related to policing in HRM.
Media release: The purpose of the survey is to determine candidates’ stances on key issues related to policing, ahead of the upcoming municipal election on October 17, 2020. Topics covered in the survey range from the Calls for Justice from the Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, to the HRM budget and the delivery of policing services by the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP.