The SPVM will not put an end to arrests without cause, as the report it commissioned suggests. Fady Dagher does not want to announce a “symbolic measure” to combat racial profiling, he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The second report led by researcher Victor Armony, conducted at the request of the SPVM, proposed a moratorium “on any police arrest that is not justified by the investigation of a specific crime or by the reasonable suspicion of an illegal activity . »
Montreal police chief Fady Dagher wants to favor a “small steps” approach, which attacks the “root” of the problem. He judges that the moratorium will not necessarily make it possible to change practices.
Alain Vaillancourt, head of public safety on the city’s executive committee, welcomed the police chief’s report and decision: “I’m comfortable with the fact that he wants to go with in-depth change. »
“A moratorium would not have been symbolic,” said Alicia Boatswain-Kyte, one of the researchers who signed the report, who is an assistant professor of social work at McGill University. “I think it would have been necessary,” she added, an opinion shared by her colleagues, who all say they are disappointed with the decision of the chief of police.
The disparity in random police stops does not appear to have diminished since the issue was first reported on in 2019. For example, in 2021, Indigenous people were still six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people. .
The police chief intends instead to tackle the discriminatory entry and promotion criteria, which are also the subject of recommendations. Fady Dagher cited the example of the swimming test which is required to integrate the police forces, a sport which is not particularly practiced in black communities. However, a procedure prevents a police officer from jumping into the water. “These recommendations without a moratorium, for us, it does not work,” said Alicia Boatswain-Kyte.