Letter of the day: Random street checks by police have no place in a free society
The random police street check is a routine practice — in totalitarian states. Random street checks have no place in a free society committed to constitutionally protected human rights.
Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms guarantees everyone in Canada the right to be left alone, to be able to walk, jog and cycle in the streets of Montreal free from police interference unless they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that you have engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity.
Our courts routinely affirm these principles but the Montreal police seem to believe they know better and can engage in wilful blindness of court rulings.
Police Chief Fady Dagher justifies his 'law and order' rhetoric by asserting that 'the overwhelming majority of the public wants police to have discretion to stop and question people in suspicious circumstances, even if officers don't have the legal grounds to detain them,' according to The Gazette.
No evidence was cited to support his assertion that is in any event irrelevant. Even if there is some 'public' support for random checks, court-mandated human rights cannot be overridden by public opinion.
Also not to be overlooked, as noted by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, is that 'police services collect and retain a wide range of information about the people they come in contact with including records of contact, allegations, withdrawn charges, acquittals and mental health apprehensions, just to name a few.'
These records are stored in what is euphemistically called a 'non-conviction database.' They are not criminal convictions — and yet, 'this does not mean, however, that they will never be released by the police in a background check,' the association warns.
In my work as a criminal defence lawyer, I have come across reports of people with no criminal convictions applying for security-sensitive jobs and not being hired — and later recalling having been stopped by police and given their identification.
Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against police forces, including the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, over random interceptions. Such legal actions remain the only recourse for citizens as long as governments fail to rein in their police forces.
But let's not forget: While Mayor Valérie Plante's administration says it's ready to pay compensation to those targeted by the interventions, it's taxpayers who pick up the cost of legal fees to defend against these lawsuits — and of the eventual payouts when damages are awarded.
In a city whose infrastructure is crumbling, among other serious problems, it is nothing short of scandalous to be spending taxpayer dollars to finance police stopping innocent people in the streets of Montreal.
The solution is simple: Random street checks, which overwhelmingly target racialized persons, are discriminatory and they must stop. Right now.
Ralph Mastromonaco, St-Laurent
Submitting a letter to the editor
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