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Dec. 8, 2003. 06:21 AM

Report traces cost of racial profiles

SCOTT SIMMIE
STAFF REPORTER

Racial profiling exists; it exists in a wide range of agencies and
institutions across the province; and it has a profoundly negative impact
on people's lives, Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton says.

In a commission report to be released tomorrow, affluent professionals
describe being conspicuously shadowed by shopping mall security because of
skin colour, teens say they've been unjustly harassed by police because of
stereotypical perceptions, and Muslims recount being treated like
terrorists following the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

When the commission urged Ontarians who felt they'd experienced racial
profiling to tell their stories earlier this year, nearly 800 came forward.

The probe heard from people of many different ethnic and racial
backgrounds, and Norton said it contains specific recommendations.

"It covers a whole range of areas ? it covers malls where there's private
security, it involves retail outlets, it involves the educational system,''
Norton said.

``So it's much broader than just law enforcement."

The inquiry was not set up to determine if racial profiling exists, but
after examining 19 studies and hearing from hundreds of people, the
commissioner said there could be no doubt as to the existence of the
practice.

"Some of my fellow commissioners have told me that they read the report
with, at times, tears in their eyes," Norton told the Star. "And I hope it
will have that kind of moving impact upon people generally in terms of the
toll that this takes on some people."

The inquiry, and 90-page report, was sparked by widespread public debate
following last year's Race and Crime series in the Star.

The Star obtained police arrest database records of more than 480,000
incidents in which an individual was arrested or ticketed, and almost
800,000 criminal and other charges. The Star's analysis of the data found
blacks charged with simple drug possession were taken to a police station
more often than whites facing the same charge. Once at the station, black
suspects were held overnight for a bail hearing at twice the rate of
whites. The data also showed a disproportionate number of black motorists
in the database were ticketed for offences that routinely would come to
light following a traffic stop.

The police dismissed the series as "junk science" and the police union
filed a lawsuit. The suit was dismissed by a judge and the union is
appealing that decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

But the inquiry had a much broader scope than police or African Canadians.

"We don't focus on the police," Norton said.

Of the 800 people who talked to the probe, 400 met the definition of racial
profiling the Commission used in its terms of reference:

"...any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public
protection, that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity,
ancestry, religion, or place of origin ... rather than on reasonable
suspicion to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different
treatment."

People from all walks of life told the inquiry that was precisely what
happened to them.

The experiences varied widely. But those subjected to unwarranted scrutiny
shared some common emotions. Many said they felt like lesser Canadian
citizens, while others said their perception of institutions in this
country had been forever tainted. In a few cases, people suffered physical
injuries as a result of being unjustly singled out.

It's believed the report will contain a section on Aboriginals, who have
long said they've been unfairly given special attention because of negative
stereotypes. Some in the field hope the report could ultimately lead to
police and other law enforcement agencies recording the race of everyone
they stop.

"If they have to fill in a report ... it makes them check their own
behaviour," says Kimberly Murray, executive director of Aboriginal Legal
Services of Toronto. "They're going to have to justify why they stopped
that person, which they're not required to do now. They just stop people,
there's no reporting of it."

Norton stressed that the report is not an exercise in blame, and said
racial profiling does not mean someone is racist or harbours resentment
toward certain ethnic groups. Often, he says, perceptions can be influenced
by news coverage or common stereotypes.

"This is not a finger-pointing exercise. We're not saying the police are
any different from anybody else."

Others in the community, meanwhile, hope the new provincial and municipal
governments may be more receptive to addressing the problem.

"It's a governmental agency that is coming out with this report," said
Herman Stewart, vice-president of the Jamaican Canadian Association. "I
hope that the powers that be won't dismiss it the same way they did with
the Star series."

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