Community Safety and Public Wellness
Little did anyone know that the murder of George Floyd would turn the currents of history into rapids. People around the world, including here in Hamilton, hit the streets in protest of systemic racism, police conduct and a call to ‘defund the police.’ Clearly it was no time for silence as millions of people across the world stood up and spoke out. I believe Black Lives Matter.
When something goes off-the-rails, we have no right to make things worse. Instead, we must take time to revisit our public policies to ensure they check three important boxes: they are directed by reason; supported by principle and designed to achieve the greatest good for everyone?
Does anyone honestly believe we can re-think, review, re-imagine or re-tool a Community Safety and Wellness system without the meaningful engagement of our broader community? It’s time for an independent, unbiased, citizen-based organizational review of Hamilton Police Service (HPS). This would involve bringing together police, public health, social services, education partners and other community members to independently assist with an assessment of our local situation.
‘Defunding the police’ is a catchy slogan but poor social policy. Historically, the Hamilton Police Service budget has been contentious at Hamilton City Council. And this year is no exception. However, it needs to be noted that in the presence of an intractable conflict, there is a legally established process to adjudicate a HPS budget. The process is a Provincial one and predicated on the belief that operational policy decisions ought not be made by politicians who may be all too anxious to slash costs at the expense of public safety.
Although the HPS budget process is prescribed in provincial law, it must never preclude the insight, oversight and foresight of the citizens it serves. We need to give serious consideration to adequately funding the things the HPS does well, but also identifying those services that would be better delivered in partnership or exclusively by another party / agency / service. Setting out to simply maintain the status quo will only foster greater distrust and cynicism. There must be a better way of moving forward, one that engages our broader community – let’s find and embrace it. Our community deserves nothing less.
Where do we go from here?
The HPS was formed in 1833. The motto of the force is ‘Together, Stronger, Safer.’ The detailed Mission, Vision and Values statement is an extraordinary document. It speaks to the importance of trust, partnership, dedication to quality service, integrity, inclusiveness, professionalism and a willingness to ‘team’ with the community to ensure the highest standard of public safety and trust.
The previous Provincial government, of which I was a part, put in place the requirement that all of Ontario’s 444 municipalities develop a ‘Community Safety and Wellness Plan.’ When Hamilton put together their community-based CSWP Task Force, I made a presentation. Wanting to be completely transparent, I shared the submission with our new Police Chief and all members of the Police Services Board. Further, I consulted with current and retired police personnel, as well as community members and service groups. Here are the suggestions/recommendations I made:
Establish an Independent Citizen Group to identify potential service partners and clarify the role of HPS in relation to other community safety and wellness agencies;
Determine if police personnel are being asked to do too much and things for which they are inadequately trained;
Identify what additional resources are needed to combat root causes of community injustice, public health challenges and community violence.
Diagnose new interventions and programs that need to be put in place;
Cause a ‘binding agreement’ (or zero tolerance policy), modeled by the Peel Police Services, to address systemic racism;
Identify specific ways to assist the victims of community violence, especially related to homelessness and encampments;
Identify ways to inject additional funding for public health services;
Review our 911 system. Could we develop response options to ensure the most appropriate first responder intervention? Form and expanded helpful partnerships and enhanced broader back-up systems.
Identify additional police training modules are needed, such as crisis management and the de-escalation of violent and potentially violent situations;
Review and where appropriate improve recruitment and hiring practices. Are there ways to more effectively screen for unwanted biases like racist attitudes, sexism, homophobia, anti-poverty beliefs and any discernible tendency to be over aggressive or subject to panic misjudgments?
In closing I want to emphasize the importance of monitoring and learning from other jurisdictions. Often great ideas never see the light of day because no one hears them or seeks them out.
For example, Newark, New Jersey has engaged the community in a dramatic reimaging of community policing. Moreover, Oakland, California created a Chief of Violence Prevention, elevating it to the same level as Enforcement.
There is no question that Hamiltonians are demanding needed changes to HPS and to the structure of policing in general. Those of us who sit on Council must listen and act. I believe we need to evolve and reform our municipal police force to meet the needs of everyone in our community, as only then will we be together, stronger and safer.
