On July 6th, the Toronto Star published the results of an investigation which revealed a serious racial bias within the Toronto Police Service.
The data showed that between the years of 2003-2013, Black people with no history of criminal convictions were three times more likely to be arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana than White people of similar backgrounds.
The results of this news caught the attention of former Toronto Mayor John Sewell, who is now the coordinator of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC). Sewell subsequently released a memo to the Toronto Police Services Board:
Toronto Police Accountability Coalition
c/o Suite 206, 401 Richmond Street West,
Toronto ON
M5V 3A8
416 977 5097
July 13, 2017
To: Toronto Police Services Board
The Toronto Star reports that for a decade before 2014 (the latest data available), Toronto arrested three times as many Black people per capita as white people for simple possession of marijuana. The data used showed that all arrests were of individuals were with no previous involvement with the criminal justice system.
The same report shows Black people were more likely to be held…