‘BABY STEP’: Collection of race-based data only matters if RCMP act on it, says prof

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Manitoba mounties will collect race-based data in a new pilot project as RCMP say they are working to address “systemic racism and discrimination” and build greater trust with minority groups and with Indigenous people in Canada.

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‘BABY STEP’: Collection of race-based data only matters if RCMP act on it, says prof Back to video

One expert advises caution however as he says the project will only be effective if police act on what they learn from the data.

“The risk here is that we don’t become excessively involved in self-congratulations, because this is only an initial step, and make no mistake it’s a baby step,” University of Alberta Professor of Criminology and Sociology Temitope Oriola said on Wednesday.

“We have to use the data for reasonable accountability measures; otherwise this is nothing more than performance art.”

Oriola’s comments come in response to the RCMP’s announcement on Tuesday that they will launch the Race-Based Data Collection (RBDC) Initiative in several communities across Canada, including in the northern Manitoba city of Thompson.

According to RCMP, the project will see detachments collect, analyze and report race-based data “to better understand the experiences of Indigenous, Black and other racialized individuals and communities in their interactions with RCMP frontline officers.”

“The collection of race-based data to understand police interactions such as wellness checks, and arrests and use of force will provide evidence-based information to help improve how the RCMP provides services to diverse communities,” RCMP said.

Mounties say the program will work to identify differences in policing outcomes for Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities, and better understand the extent and impact of “systemic racial disparities” in community safety.

Another key for the program will be to have officers build greater trust with minority groups and communities, and improve public safety outcomes.

“It is very important to the Manitoba RCMP to serve our communities with empathy, understanding, and insight,” Manitoba RCMP Commanding Officer Rob Hill said in a media release. “This initiative is about helping us do that.”

Oriola said he has spent years studying police interactions with Indigenous people and people of colour in Canada and the issue of excessive force by police services.

He says it is because of many interactions with police that there continues to be an “inherent distrust” of police officers in Canada among some minority groups.

“Police are the first point of contact for most people in the justice system and are the most visible representation of the criminal justice system,” Oriola said. “What happens in those initial interactions with police is what often shapes those opinions.”

According to a study by the federal government in 2020, one in five Indigenous Canadians (21%) and one in five Black Canadians (22%) have “little or no confidence in police,” which is double the number of those who were neither Indigenous nor part of a visible minority group. (11%).

“Relative to the overall population, Black people and Indigenous people had particularly negative perceptions of the ability of police to treat people fairly and be approachable and easy to talk to,” the study reads.

Oriola said RCMP can only begin to work on those trust issues if they use the data from the pilot project to make “real and substantive changes” and not simply let those numbers “sit on a shelf.”

“You don’t build trust with press conferences or media releases,” he said. “The accountability measures that flow from this are what is important.

“It’s about showing the public how you will act after you make these announcements.”

Along with Thompson this month, the initiative will be rolled out in Whitehorse, YT., Fort McMurray, Alta., and later this year in detachments in B.C. and Nova Scotia and eventually it will be national.

“These sites were chosen based on a number of factors including public consultations held throughout 2022 and 2023,” RCMP said.

“Piloting the RBDC Initiative will provide an opportunity for the RCMP to test processes and make improvements and adjustments before an anticipated future national rollout.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.