403 search results for
Policing and the criminal justice system
Recommendation 32:
The Ministry of Attorney General should provide funding for the Law Society and People of African Descent community organizations to run legal clinics and legal aid programs for People of African Descent, predominantly led and designed by law practitioners of African descent. These programs must be accessible from anywhere within the province and run with an anti-Black racism lens and with a clear legal advocacy strategy. The Black Legal Action Centre in Ontario is a good example of a community legal aid program for the People of African Descent community.
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Recommendation 27:
The Ministry of Attorney General should ensure that sufficient authority is awarded to the BC Law society and the BC Judicial Council, under the “Race-based” data legislation for the collection, access and use of race-based data on the number of Black judges and lawyers in BC, to enhance their ability to monitor and address representational disparities.
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Recommendation 31:
The Ministry of Attorney General should collaborate with community organizations and leaders to promote and deepen People of African Descent communities’ understanding of new legislations as they come into force. This will be particularly critical for the anti-racism legislation that requires simultaneous investments in accessible outlets to provide the People of African Descent community with competent education on their rights, privileges, freedoms and legal options.
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Recommendation 29:
The Ministry of Advanced education should perform a contextualized review of admission processes and criteria that constitute systemic barriers to admissions to Law School for students of African descent.
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Recommendation 2:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General should work with the RCMP and local police to reform cultural sensitivity programs and other training to improve their anti-Black racism components. It is critical that specific anti-black modules or courses be established in such training to prioritize inter-cultural communication and sensitivities, and to promote effective relationships and trust building with the People of African Descent communities. It is also critical that anti-black racism training be made mandatory, under legislative/regulatory authority, for police forces and their leadership.
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Recommendation 6:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General should prioritize and support the appointment of People of African Descent to police boards and other oversight and complaint structures and committees to improve their impartiality, inclusiveness, and adequacy in reflecting BC’s diversity in terms of race, gender, age, and income levels.
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Recommendation 1:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General should lead the way in providing genuine, unequivocal, and public admission and acknowledgment that province-wide police forces, as institutions, have historically been characterized by colonial procedures that have led to discrimination and oppression towards People of African Descents and other minorities. Similar statements should also be expected from police chiefs across the province as a foundational act in restoring trust with the People of African Descent community.
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Recommendation 4:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General should ensure that the anti-racism legislation is intentional about promoting the wellbeing of Black officers and removing all anti-Black racism they face within the police services.
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Recommendation 3:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General should ensure that sufficient authority is provided under the “Race-based” data legislation for the collection, access and use of race-based data to assess the progress of diversity measures undertaken by the Province in terms of People of African Descent membership of police forces and their leadership; and to assess operational activities such as street checks, arrests and detentions. Methodologies and data points used in public reports and engagements such as that of the Vancouver Police Department on this matter could be used as models and referents in drafting regulations.
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Recommendation 5:
The Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the BC Public Service Agency should actively promote and support the recruitment of People of African Descent as police officers to have a force that better reflects the rich cultural diversity of BC. It is important that this recruitment be intentional, genuine, and underpinned by continuous efforts to understand and amend traditional barriers such as exclusionary application requirements. As it is understood that the Provincial government has limited levers in influencing local police recruitment, it’s also recommended that a program similar to the Aboriginal Youth Program be established that would provide funding for the recruitment of determined numbers of People of African Descent officers by local police.
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