So, it turns out Black Canadians don’t trust the police or local law enforcement. But they do like the Government more.
Put it this way, and it may very well seem like the beginning of a joke.
It is instead the result of the annual survey CanTrust Index.
Another study (a qualitative one) closer to our Capital city done by two professors of the criminology department at the University of Ottawa showed how almost half of the participants (48,5%) have no confidence whatsoever in the Ottawa Police. The rest didn’t have-globally-the best opinion on the services and the officers.
It comes as no surprise at all to look at this data, to know these percentages. They cannot surprise us, and they are not shocking. The shock will be to think these results are.
We knew all along how much Blacks felt unsafe and unprotected.
We knew all along how rooted, deep, and concerning systemic racism was.
We just kept looking the other way around for too long to understand that the consequences would have been massive.
6 Black Canadians out of 10 do not trust Police.
Almost 5 Black Canadians out of 10 have no confidence in it.
These numbers are not shocking at all.
But they are scary.
They should warn us. They should let us understand how deeply black and minorities feel left out by the one service which ought to provide security and safety. Both physical safety and psychological.
Even if you are actually protected by it, even if your local police officers are the best ones, even if you live in the legality, if you don’t feel safe and you’re not sure what will happen next, you will suffer and feel left out. You will see officers as a constant reminder that it doesn’t really matter what you do, you could have problems.
To solve all of this, change is required. Systemic racism is now out in the open, and everyone acknowledges its existence. Solutions are, constantly, being proposed. Some have more merits than others, some could definitely work, and some won’t.
We have the possibility to change those numbers. We have the opportunity to make everyone FEEL safe and BE safe.
These studies help us understand how things are going and according to those, things aren’t well. But as I said: they warn us.
Now we are warned. Now we know for sure that solutions must follow until every citizen in Canada when sees a police officer thinks: “She’s here to protect me.” “He makes me feel comfortable.”
Until then, these numbers won’t move a figure. Until then, there will always be children who grow up to be afraid because their parents were.
Until then, Canada will be worse than how it should aspire to be.
Ketcia Peters is an entrepreneur and community advocate for economic inclusion and development for Black Canadians and the social justice sector. Her firm, Ketcia Peters Group Inc. (KPG) provides bilingual organizational and human development services to the public and private sectors. This includes analysis and coaching of HR practices, strategic planning, organizational change, equity and inclusivity, and anti-racism. KPG also provides individual and group coaching. In recent years, KP Group Inc. has shifted to greatly expand its equity, diversity, and inclusivity work at the municipal and community level, with a focus on anti-racism and anti-oppression. This work centers on a trauma-informed approach in order to ensure we do not cause further harm to those most marginalized in our communities. Visit her website at: https://ketciapeters.com/