The usual suspects: police stop and search practices in Canada

The present study explores ethnic differences in stop-and-search outcomes. It uses data from 53,858 stop-and-search incidents recorded by a United Kingdom police force. Prior studies often focused on single outcomes -notably, arrests -and based on a binary majority-versusminority categorisation of ethnicity/race. Our analysis departs from this approach by examining multiple outcomes across different ethnic groups. Focusing first on the binary categorisation, we found that stopsand-searches involving minorities were more likely to lead to arrests or to informal advice by officers than Whites, but less likely to receive formal warnings. No differences emerged in terms of encounters that resulted in 'no further action'. However, there was no consistent pattern across any of the outcomes once the minority group was disaggregated into specific ethnic groups, despite having sufficient statistical power. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis shows that while ethnicity predicts stop-and-search outcomes, its effect is subsidiary to gender, criminal history, whether the encounter happened in a crime hotspot or not, and whether property was found during the encounter. Implications for future research are discussed. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Wortley and Owusu-Bempah 2011). Similarly, the effectiveness of the practice appears to vary between societies.…”

Section: Race In Police Stops-and-searches and Their Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Racial stratification and multiple outcomes in police stops and searches

Ariel

Tankebe

2016

Policing and Society

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“…The literature on "police profiling" suggests that with or without explicit approval (through policy, for instance), it is not unusual for police to generalize and essentialize criminality across population groups, particularly visible minorities (Satzewich and Shaffir 2009;Wortley and Owusu-Bempah 2011). We argue that the premise behind racial profiling can be extended to broader notions of social profiling.…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

Tickets … and More Tickets: A Case Study of the Enforcement of the Ontario Safe Streets Act

O’Grady

Gaetz

Buccieri

2013

Canadian Public Policy

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Anti-social behaviour statutes are proliferating in western societies, yet little statistical analysis has been conducted on their enforcement patterns and trends, particularly in Canada. A study of the Ontario Safe Streets Act enforcement in Toronto shows a 2,000 percent increase in tickets from 2000 to 2010, with most being issued downtown to homeless individuals. Further research shows that this increase is not the result of increasing crime rates, increases in aggressive solicitation practices, widespread complaints from businesses or the public, or police responses to gangs, nor is it for revenue generation. We argue such anti-social behaviour statutes are a misguided public policy response to the visibility of homelessness.

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“…Everyday frontline interactions, and therapeutic and recreational interventions, are embedded in international, national, historical, social, political, and economic inequalities and inequities (de Finney et al, 2012); thus, decisions concerning these actions cannot be solely based on practitioners' intentions, empathy, formal training, or years of experience. For instance, Black Canadian youth, also called African Canadian youth, are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2018;Pon et al, 2011;United Nations General Assembly, 2017) and experience documented challenges in the areas of schooling, post-secondary education, criminal justice, and employment (Bernard & Smith, 2018;Briggs, 2018;Bundy, 2019;Collins & Magnan, 2018;Creese, 2010;James, 2012James, , 2019Kanu, 2008;Lafortune, 2019;Robson et al, 2018;Schroeter & James, 2015;Thésée & Carr, 2014;Usman, 2012;Wortley & Owusu-Bempah, 2011). Perhaps we should decentre our attention from individual life trajectories and risk factors to examine closely the systemic and institutional factors that affect Black youth.…”

Section: Johanne Jean-pierrementioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Imagining Child and Youth Care Practice With African Canadian Youth

Daniel

Jean-Pierre

2020

IJCYFS

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This article is based on a plenary held during the Child & Youth Care in Action VI Conference: Moving Through Trails and Trials Toward Community Wellness, held in Victoria, British Columbia in April 2019. It explores how we can re-imagine child and youth care practice with African Canadian youth. This emerging paradigm aligns with child and youth care politicized praxis as well as trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches in the field’s literature. We highlight the importance of mobilizing critical and transformative theoretical frameworks along with an Africentric worldview to substantially support youth of African descent with a strengths-based approach. Moreover, the protective role of Black-affirming spaces is developed and articulated.

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The usual suspects: police stop and search practices in Canada

Cited by 160 publications

References 18 publications

Racial stratification and multiple outcomes in police stops and searches

Racial stratification and multiple outcomes in police stops and searches

Tickets … and More Tickets: A Case Study of the Enforcement of the Ontario Safe Streets Act

Re-Imagining Child and Youth Care Practice With African Canadian Youth

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