Race, age, and gender are big factors in who is stopped by police in Toronto, reports the Toronto Star. Looking at blacks and whites of all ages, blacks are three times more likely to be stopped. Black males aged 15-24 are stopped and documented 2.5 times more than white males the same age. In each of the city’s 74 police patrol zones, blacks were documented at significantly higher rates than their overall census population by zone, and that in many zones, the same holds true for “brown” people — mainly people of South Asian, Arab and West Asian backgrounds.
“It doesn’t matter what type of neighbourhood you live in or what type of neighbourhood you’re travelling through, if you are black you are much more likely to attract the attention of the police and therefore have a contact card filled out,” says University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley, who reviewed the Star analysis. Police Chief Bill Blair understands that people may think they are being unfairly stopped. He said police are targeting neighborhoods where the highest level of “victimization” occurs. He said these are often “racialized” neighborhoods. The Star based its reporting on six year's worth of contact data from police obtained through a freedom of information request.
Posted by Cracker Killer
Monday, February 15, 2010 07:45
If police are looking for a 3 male blacks how does a 6’4 200 plus pound man in his 40s AND a 5’5 150 lbs teen BOTH ’fit the description"? More so, how about when a crime HAS NOT BEEN COMMITED. It seems people dismiss the fact that blacks are stopped in affluent areas where NO CRIME is being committed MORE than they do in “troubled areas”. When i look @ the homeless, child molesters, hardcore drug abusers, prostitutes….I see the majority is made up of white people. If police targeted other crimes in the same-way they target violent crimes, then whites would be overly represented in the court systems the way blacks are. But then that would mean judges/police/lawyers would be targeting THEIR OWN friends, neighbours, family members etc (heaven forbid). Imagine that. Police patrolling middle class neighbourhoods randomly pulling over & detaining white people whose only crime was being the wrong color…..one can only dream.
Posted by james noble
Friday, February 12, 2010 05:52
PUBLIC ALERT —-Armed robbery just occured , suspects 3 male balcks.. Man shot , suspect male black.. Shots fired at High School police looking for suspects ( guess what colour) …Well fact is that Blacks are 2% of Toronto’s population but COMMIT 80% of the crime.. Now who made themselves the target of public rath ? I’d be guessin the BLACKS !!!!!