Latest news with #racialprofiling
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Italy calls Council of Europe 'shameful' after warning on police racism
ROME, May 29 (Reuters) - Italy lashed out at the Council of Europe on Thursday and defended its police after the European human rights body named Italy among countries where racist conduct among law enforcers was a problem. In presenting its 2025 annual report on Wednesday, the head of the Council's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) urged Italy to launch an independent enquiry into evidence that its police disproportionately targeted immigrants. Bertil Cottier said so-called "racial profiling", by which the police stop people on the basis of their skin colour or presumed nationality or religion, appeared to be an issue in Italy and called on the government to look into it. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her deputy Matteo Salvini, who both lead far-right parties that base their appeal on law-and-order and the fight against illegal immigration, bluntly dismissed the suggestion. "ECRI's words, accusing the Italian police of racism, are simply shameful," Brothers of Italy chief Meloni posted on social media platform X on Wednesday. League leader Salvini doubled down on Thursday, telling reporters in Rome that the anti-racism panel "should be ashamed," and calling it "another useless body paid for by Italian and European citizens, that produces rubbish in return." The head of state Sergio Mattarella summoned Italy's police chief for a meeting on Thursday, "to re-confirm the admiration and trust of the country in its law enforcers." The Council of Europe did not respond to a request for comment. The Strasbourg-based organisation, which has 46 member states, was founded in 1949 to promote democracy and human rights in the continent. The latest ECRI report was an overview of its activities in 2024 and did not specifically discuss the Italian situation. However, in ECRI's latest country-specific report in October, it flagged "numerous accounts of racial profiling by law enforcement officials, targeting especially Roma and people of African descent" in Italy.
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
New Montreal police street check policy praised by city, panned by advocacy groups
Social Sharing Montreal police unveiled a new street check policy Monday, and it's already being praised as progress by the city but criticized by anti-racism advocates for its lack of clear consequences for officers who violate it. The policy applies to officers with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) randomly stopping people on foot, commonly known as street checks. Officers will need to clarify the reason for the interaction and inform the person they are free to leave at any time. Officers must then document each of these interactions. Documented street check reports will then be reviewed by a committee to ensure there is no racial profiling. Police Chief Fady Dagher says the updated policy will help build trust with the community. While it is just a start to addressing racial profiling within the SPVM, he says it is a step in the right direction. A report published in 2019 found that Indigenous, Black, Asian and Arab people disproportionately experienced random police checks. A street check policy adopted in 2020 aimed to reduce officers' power to stop people at random. A second report, published in 2023 by some of the same researchers, concluded there was no decrease in profiling after the SPVM created the 2020 policy. It found that between 2014 and 2021, Indigenous people were six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people. Black people were 3.5 times more likely to be stopped and Arab people 2.6 times. The SPVM says it has now taken the necessary steps to address concerns about racial profiling, and that is reflected in the updated policy. It's expected to take effect this fall, but the SPVM says officers have already been instructed to start following it. Public security head praises new policy Alain Vaillancourt, who oversees public security on Montreal's executive committee, praised the move in a statement, calling it a positive step forward. "It represents an important stage in the conversation our administration has initiated around profiling," the statement says. "The new requirement for police officers to inform individuals that they are not obliged to comply and may leave at any time is a significant development." He commends the work carried out by Dagher and his team, emphasizing that this is an ongoing effort and the policy may still be adjusted based on the effects observed by police, the public and partners. However, the Ligue des Noirs du Québec, a civil liberties group, says the new policy lacks enforcement and does little to hold officers accountable without legislative backing. "The new stop-and-question policy comes with no sanctions," says president Max Stanley Bazin in a statement. "The provincial government must step in — we're all waiting for a specific law to address the reality of systemic racism and systemic discrimination." In other provinces, these issues are recognized and openly acknowledged, he says. "The right to equality must be respected," he says. Sanctions needed for officers who don't respect policy Another rights advocacy group, the Ligue des droits et libertés, says in a news release that this measure is insufficient. It says officers should explicitly inform those stopped that they have no legal obligation to identify themselves or answer questions, and sanctions should be imposed if this obligation is not respected. "Citizens affected by racial and social profiling know there is a vast difference between policy on paper and reality on the street," the news release says. It says the fight for a total ban on these stops is not over. Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), says this policy is an improvement compared to the one in 2020, as it clarifies what citizens' rights and freedoms are. However, his organization will be studying the new policy further to determine how it differs from the 2020 version from a legal point of view. "One of the most important criteria we have to look at is the notion of reasonable suspicion in order to justify the legality of the street check," Niemi says. He says the policy's application needs to be examined from the citizens' perspective, particularly among young people and "whether those young people's rights and freedoms will still be respected." Niemi says he doesn't believe the policy will improve trust between the community and police. There are other ways to enhance public security, trust and community co-operation, he says, and these policies should be created from the citizens' perspective. The legality of random police stops in Quebec remains before the courts. The province is appealing a Quebec Court of Appeal decision that found such stops unconstitutional without reasonable suspicion, with the case expected to go to the .
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
DOJ civil rights gets Trump makeover. Will it change L.A. racial profiling lawsuits?
Keith Puckett says he was heading to the gym to help prepare his son for basketball tryouts at El Segundo High School when a police officer passing in the opposite direction flipped a U-turn and stopped him. Puckett, 47, a senior security program manager at Microsoft, was driving a weathered pickup truck he'd borrowed from a friend, according to a civil rights complaint he filed last August in L.A. County Superior Court that described the March 2021 encounter. The officer, according to the complaint, claimed the truck's rear license plate light was out. Puckett maintains he made a point of checking that all the lights worked before hitting the road. A photo included in court filings, which he said was taken the day of the stop, showed the rear of the vehicle with the license plate and a frame that said, "I'd rather be fishing" clearly illuminated. The real reason he was stopped, his complaint claims, is the officer 'saw a colored person in the car.' It wasn't the first time Puckett, who is Black, alleges he was racially profiled in El Segundo. Read more: 'Black in Mayberry.' How a film exposed racial tensions in one of L.A. County's whitest cities Puckett said in court filings that he contacted the police department and local officials to "see if an agreement could be reached about policy changes to improve the treatment of Black people in El Segundo," but disagreement led to the ongoing lawsuit. The city has denied wrongdoing in court filings and disputed Puckett's claims. "The City of El Segundo is committed to treating everybody fairly, no matter their race, national origin, sexual orientation, sexual identity or alleged involvement in criminal activity," a statement issued last August said. "Our police chief is committed to upholding our high standards, and we do not tolerate bias or discrimination of any kind." But in April, a judge refused a request to strike down the complaint, permitting the case to move forward. Maurice Suh, Puckett's lawyer, told The Times 'it is apparent that change won't occur without this court proceeding.' Attorneys say the remaking of the federal Department of Justice under President Trump has left lawsuits like Puckett's as one of the last lines of defense against alleged civil rights violations. Under Trump and the new leadership of Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, roughly 70% of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division has been dissolved. What remains has been issued a new set of priorities. Instead of its traditional functions of protecting the constitutional rights of minority communities and marginalized people, the administration plans to use the department as an enforcement arm against state and local officials, college administrators and student protesters. Dhillon has said her office is done spreading "woke ideology.' The department plans to refocus its efforts toward voter fraud and limiting the rights of transgender people. This week, the DOJ also announced it would no longer enforce consent decrees against police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky., ending federal oversight that stemmed from the 2020 killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The DOJ has typically enforced laws that prohibit discrimination, prosecuted police misconduct and conducted investigations into constitutional violations entrenched in some institutions. But even with enforcement from the federal government, police departments can be slow to embrace change. State data shows racial profiling remains pervasive, with Black and Latino individuals still stopped by police at rates disproportionate to their percentage of California's population. Read more: 'Now is not the time': Trump cuts to L.A. overdose prevention efforts alarm experts 'The Department of Justice only gets involved with the worst of the worst, and without its oversight, systemic abuse is more likely to run rampant in our nation's law enforcement agencies,' said James DeSimone, an attorney whose firm specializes in civil rights law. Puckett's claim against El Segundo is one of several to be filed against L.A. County municipalities in recent years. The Beverly Hills Police Department has been sued repeatedly, including by several Black LAPD officers who allege they were pulled over without justification. The officers are included in a $500-million class-action lawsuit against Beverly Hills, along with over 1,000 Black people who allege they were unjustly targeted, handcuffed and arrested. Attorneys Brad Gage and Ben Crump filed the suit in 2021, and followed up with another last year, which argues racial profiling by the department continued unabated. 'The City of Beverly Hills continues to vigorously defend this case. The role of the Beverly Hills Police Department is to enforce the law, regardless of race,' wrote Keith Sterling, the deputy city manager, in a statement. Gage said that in his 40 years of practicing law, this era is the 'worst [he's] ever seen' when it comes to discrimination litigation. Gage doesn't foresee his cases being affected by the federal civil rights changes, but he is worried about what will happen to accountability for alleged 'repeat offenders' like Beverly Hills under this refashioned DOJ civil rights arm. 'We definitely want to see them have a consent decree. I don't know if that's going to be possible,' said Gage. 'It's going to be more on lawyers to try to do things through the courts.' Cuts under the Trump administration, Gage said, are expected to delay any cases involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission due to staffing issues as 'there just won't be enough people to handle the files.' Another Los Angeles lawyer, Will Reed, who deals with employment law and workplace discrimination, said an executive order from Trump to "eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability" could also have major consequences. Disparate impact law comes into play in cases where bias can be subtle and may not even be intended. Its purpose is to hold employers, housing providers and others liable for practices that disproportionately harm vulnerable groups. 'If I lose the ability to use disparate impact, that's going to take away a tool that we use to try and work to make society a more equitable place,' said Reed. On the state level, a spokesperson for the California Civil Rights Department said the agency is monitoring federal actions, but its focus 'remains the same: To safeguard the civil rights of all Californians.' Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said he will continue to investigate law enforcement agencies for compliance with civil rights laws and will also keep supporting the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board. Created in 2015, the board requires law enforcement agencies to collect and report demographic data in an effort to eliminate discrimination. 'California is not backing down. My office will continue to vigorously investigate and enforce state and federal civil rights laws,' Bonta said in a statement to The Times. 'California has always prioritized this work, and we will continue to do so.' Read more: With motive still a mystery, judge moves L.A. Live homicide case to trial But without additional oversight from federal authorities, there's only so much the state can do. Jin Hee Lee, strategic initiatives director at the Legal Defense Fund, is concerned not only about the surge in cases private law firms and nonprofits like hers will face but also about budget cuts that have left resources scarce to fight prolonged court battles. Even though the civil rights division is shrinking, she still hasn't lost faith in local government entities. "People shouldn't feel powerless,' said Lee. 'They still have the ability to pressure their local elected officials to make sure that the type of public safety they receive is what they want.' El Segundo officials said in a statement last August issued in response to Puckett's lawsuit that they had treated his claims seriously and hired an outside firm to conduct an independent investigation. Puckett, the statement said, had proposed a dozen policy changes, but the city found it was "already in substantial compliance with all but one of his demands." "The only issue that Mr. Puckett and the City had any real disagreement over was his request that certain Vehicle Code violations be deprioritized for stops," the El Segundo statement said. In his lawsuit, Puckett said he "plans to continue living in El Segundo, a city he has called home for many years." But despite his efforts to bring change, he claimed, police officers continue to follow him and he lives in fear of future encounters. Puckett called the case his "final effort to vindicate his constitutional rights, hold the City accountable for its unlawful conduct, and compel it to stop racially profiling Black people." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ontario's stop and search proposal could violate people's rights, experts say
The Ontario government says it wants to give police more powers to stop and search vehicles without a search warrant, in a new effort to stop car thieves. But as CBC's Britnei Bilhete reports, some criminal lawyers say the move could violate people's rights and lead to racial profiling.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ontario wants to expand vehicle stop-and-searches. Some experts say it could lead to racial profiling
Ontario's stop and search proposal could violate people's rights, experts say 55 years ago Social Sharing The Ford government says it wants to give police more powers to stop and search vehicles without a search warrant in a new effort to stop car thieves, but some criminal lawyers say the move could violate people's rights and lead to racial profiling. New legislation tabled May 1 could amend the Highway Traffic Act to allow police to stop and search cars suspected of having key fob programming devices and some smartphone applications to steal cars. But while the bill says police would need reasonable grounds to carry out a search, SuJung Lee, an associate criminal lawyer with Daniel Brown Law, says it could nevertheless lead to an abuse of power. "Wide discretionary authority by police, especially in the context of things like the Highway Traffic Act and traffic stops in general, are a breeding ground for racial profiling to occur," she told CBC Toronto. "In these moments, where there's very little known about who the driver is, there's not an ongoing investigation... It's easy for biases that we all have, especially implicit biases, to seep into these types of interactions." According to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, every year across the country, police arrest thousands of racialized people during random roadside stops. Many of those targeted are Black or Indigenous as a result of unconscious biases or stereotypes, the CCLA says. Concerns about legal overstepping In Ontario, police already have the power to stop and search vehicles under certain circumstances, including through the Cannabis Control Act to confiscate open packages of marijuana, for example. The current proposal is looking to expand search powers under the Highway Traffic Act. The overpolicing of marginalized groups has been acknowledged by courts and reflected in research, says Theresa Donkor, a criminal defence lawyer at Rudnicki and Company who specializes in cases involving racial profiling. "It makes those communities actually feel less safe," Donkor said. "It makes them feel like they actually do not have the same rights as other individuals in Canadian society." Beyond concerns of how the proposed amendment could impact people of colour, Lee says the province may be acting unconstitutionally, noting the Highway Traffic Act was designed to regulate driving practices, not a way to go after other kinds of criminal offences. "By endowing the [Highway Traffic Act] with search powers that are designed to root out auto theft, it's taking on a criminal dimension that arguably oversteps the bounds of provincial jurisdiction, and that's an area that I would suspect is going to come under criticism," said Lee. CBC Toronto contacted the province for comment on concerns over racial profiling and the constitutionality of proposed changes. Neither the Ministry of Transportation, Attorney General's nor Solicitor General's office provided a statement. Move unlikely to be effective, experts say The move to expand search-and-stop power for police is more "political than legal," said criminal lawyer Daniel Lerner. "I don't think this is going to really impact, in any significant way, stolen vehicles," he said. "You need to look at the resources that [are needed], look at what is happening, look at why cars are being stolen and maybe, why is it so easy to steal cars?" WATCH | Critics say car makers should install more security features in vehicles: Stolen in Seconds: Why aren't car makers doing more? 7 months ago Duration 22:30 Marketplace compares some of Canada's most stolen vehicles to the same make and models sold in the UK and reveals how the same vehicles sold overseas have anti-theft measures that aren't provided in Canadian cars. Some car fob tech experts, including Auto Key Pro shop owner and operator Yaser Jafar, say the root problem is that car fob scanners and programmers are easy to buy online and that anyone can learn how to use through a YouTube or TikTok tutorial. "You can get a tool as low as $400 or $500 to be able to do a good percentage of vehicles out there," he said. "And that's the scary part is once you know it goes into the wrong person's hand." The lack of robust security features on vehicles and their key fobs has been an issue for years, says Jeff Bates, the owner of Lockdown Security, a company that sells and installs car electronics, including anti-theft systems. "There's a big onus on the vehicle manufacturers, though, to really address this loophole," Bates said. "If they went back to [physical metal] keys, you would probably cut down auto theft by a magnitude of 80-plus per cent at this point." In an emailed statement, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada spokesperson Hans Parmar said the federal department is "considering comments received in developing any restrictions with respect to these devices and continues to work with Canadian companies, online retailers and the automotive industry on this issue."
