There is a huge apprehension that is common between the experiences of the racialized communities and those that are not. So, when I saw that the diversity and inclusion police representative in Halton is a white male, I said what does a white man know about diversity and inclusion? Also, Halton Chief of Police, Chief Steve Tanner was tweeting against anti-racism and systemic racism. I became curious and reached out to the team to learn why diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a topic most non-minorities shy away, is relentlessly in the vocabulary of the Halton Regional Police Service. I wanted to understand why the region is passionate about promoting cultural integration and what work they are doing to back up their talk.
As a multicultural country, we see the role of the diversity commission being led by people we feel may not necessarily understand the experiences of those that are marginalized. The Halton Regional Police Service and its police services board are working extremely hard to undertake activities to strengthen public safety and create inclusive partnerships with the communities that they serve.
The Halton Regional Police Service contributes to the safety and wellbeing of the Region's more than 530,000 residents working in partnership with the communities they serve. The service is recognized as one of the leading police agencies in the areas of diversity and community policing initiatives. I decided to meet with them with some members of the Black Mentorship Inc (BMI) Team. BMI is an Oakville charitable organization committed to ensuring Halton Region is an inclusion equitable community.
I was pleasantly impressed when we met virtually with Sergeant Ryan Smith and Staff Sergeant Tamara and discussed the work being done to promote community policing in Halton, George Floyd’s homicide, along with the reaction of their staff etc.
The Halton Regional Police Service is committed to providing our community with the highest quality police service possible. They have a series of great programs that allows them to bridge the gap between the police and the community. Of course, with the limitations of COVID-19, the region has had to make adjustments to virtual settings; however, they still ensure that the community they serve continue to access many of the programs that they put in place. It is just done virtually.
In addition, the region partners with other communities’ organizations (including Black led) to deliver curated quality, specific programs to its growing multicultural community. They work with newcomers to strategically design curated programs specifically for that community. The program offers newcomers among other things information around fraudulent trends that they need to be aware of by providing enlightenment and education that is tailored to their needs. A goal is to facilitate their integration into our city.
“We provide presentations on frauds and any current crime trends that newcomers need to be aware of, obviously they are among the most vulnerable and we want to ensure they are not exploited. As new Canadians they sometimes may be victims of scams and frauds, so we do specific presentations to bring awareness of issues like cannabis legislation, policing in Canada to ensure we protect them from fraudsters.”
Asked if their current leadership reflects the diversity is our Halton, Sergeant Smith responded they are definitely not where they would want to be; however, they are being intentional in recruiting in order to become more reflective of the community they serve. They have made series of changes in their recruiting process, enhanced collection of demographic data to identify where there are gaps and working towards filling them. For example, they are building specific outreach initiatives towards targeted groups where their recruiting is lacking.
Regarding the reaction of HRPS staff to George Floyd’s homicide and the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM), both Sergeant Smith and Staff Sergeant Tamara Sandy said, most were outraged.
“What happened to George Floyd, a lot of people watched the video of George Floyd pleading for his life, no person of conscience can watch that video and hear Floyd’s cries for help and not be moved to action. We obviously don’t have all the answers, but our region is open to understand the struggles of the black community, our black colleagues and are working with our minority staff to learn, understand and provide support wherever we are asked to contribute.”
Sergeant Smith added; the region continues to be proactive in connecting their staff with organizations in the community that they can speak with and gain support. “As somebody who did not come from a diverse background, I heavily rely on our minority staff in pushing forward the work that we are doing to ensure equity and inclusion for all. I'm awake now! I recognize that my role within the police service is to push organizational change through programs and initiatives not necessarily through my own lived experiences, but from the perspective of those who have lived experiences, like the members of our internal support network. So, I speak with them regularly and get an understanding of the challenges they face as black officers. Our internal support network acts as support amongst their peers, but we are also making the necessary changes to better support the vulnerable groups in the region.”
We work collaboratively with internal staff and their recommendations are the drivers of the change we are pushing forward. Our internal staff’s recommendations are a huge part of the thought process we are implementing. Furthermore, the Halton Regional Police Service Corporate Communications offer residents and visitors a series of informative publications for their reference and/or use.
There is a huge discussion going on around which race should lead the efforts of diversity and inclusion. With continuous globalization, these kinds of questions will continue to arise. This is why cross-cultural integration training is a must and something perhaps as a country, we should consider adding in the curriculum of our educational system. Increasing our knowledge of other people’s culture, value systems and struggles, challenges us to freely have open dialogues as part of our everyday conversation. This is how we continue to be considerate in building sustainable empathy that not only addresses immediate concerns but fosters strong relationships among culturally diverse communities.