Racial profiling, discrimination focus of inquiry into Toronto police
TORONTO — Decades of complaints about racial profiling and discrimination by police officers in Canada’s most populous city have prompted a wide-ranging inquiry by Ontario’s Human Rights Commission into the force’s practices.
Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane said Thursday that the probe will examine the activities of the Toronto Police Service from Jan. 1, 2010, to June 30, 2017 to see to what extent the force’s actions involved profiling and discrimination against the black community in a number of areas including stops, questioning and use of force.
“This inquiry is not about establishing whether the community’s concerns are founded,” Mandhane said. “We know that they are. This inquiry is about determining the specific interactions between police and civilians that are a cause for concern.”
The commission said it will use data to examine the police service culture, training, policies, procedures and accountability mechanisms.