By Canadian Press

Vancouver votes to halt police street checks, but police board has final say

Jul 23, 2020 | 7:40 AM

VANCOUVER — Councillors in Vancouver have voted unanimously to ban officers from conducting street checks — the process of arbitrarily demanding and recording identification, outside of any sort of police investigation.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart praised the outcome of the vote in a social media statement late Wednesday, thanking the almost seven dozen speakers who offered their opinions on his motion.

He says street checks disproportionately affect people of colour and the city’s Black and Indigenous residents.

Stewart, who chairs the Vancouver Police Board, says only the board has the power to abolish the checks but he said he will pressure it to follow council’s lead.

The mayor’s twitter message says the board is preparing to consider its own motion to review street checks and make a final decision on a ban.

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Police data from 2017 shows Indigenous people make up two per cent of Vancouver’s population but are subject to 16 per cent of the checks, while Blacks are targeted five per cent of the time but represent just one per cent of city residents.

Victoria city councillors unanimously approved a motion last Thursday urging police in the capital to end street checks.

Ontario introduced rules in 2017 to ban the checks in certain situations while Nova Scotia announced last year that it would halt the practice after a review ruled such checks are illegal.

Earlier this month, Montreal police revised their street check policy to require officers to give reasons for a check to the person they are stopping, but critics argue the change won’t stop racial profiling.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2020

The Canadian Press