Police chief acknowledges CPS has anti-racism work to do

Work is proceeding on five different initiatives as the Calgary Police Service (CPS) continues to develop its anti-racism strategy, police Chief Mark Neufeld said in an update to the Calgary Police Commission on Tuesdaybut acknowledgedit has a way to go.

In September, Neufeld announced thatorganizational changes were coming to CPS as part of an anti-racism action plan.

On Oct. 27, the service said that it would be prioritizing five of 11 initiatives in order to help address public concerns about racism.

Theyincludeimproving communication with the community; building an anti-racism framework;an independent review of the school resource officer program; implementation of equity, diversity and inclusion tools and practices; and the potential re-allocation of funds.

"What we're basically trying to make sure that we do, at this point, is that we're moving forward together to be both efficient and inclusive," Neufeld said.

Plan demands transformative culture change, chair says

However, Bonita Croft, who is the chair of the police commission, pressed Neufeldon the service's tangibleprogress.

Earlier this month, a column written by a CPS constable in 10-4, the police union's magazine, surfaced andreferred to Black Lives Matter as a "police hate group."

"As we all know, this plan calls for and requires a really transformational culture change. But we have really seen from the latest 10-4 magazine article that some members have not embraced this agenda of cultural change," Croft said.

"I'm wondering what steps that you are taking to engage employees to share the importance of this work."

Neufeldacknowledged that there are differences within the CPS surrounding anti-racism work, and said heis encouraging officers and staff to keep an open mind about fighting racism.

"We've got members of the CPS that are expressing their views, and everybody's got views we're seeing our folks on different places on the continuum," Neufeld said.

"We've basically just acknowledged that we just need to start with folks where they are, and our message has just beento employees, to not be defensive about this discussion, and just to be open-minded and curious about the lived experience of everybody."

Activist asks for representation

AdoraNwofor,an anti-Black racism activist in Calgary, stressed the importance of diversity and representation of consultants working with the CPS on anti-racism initiatives during the update.

She also questioned why the members of various boards involved in the action plan are not easily accessible online.

"I'm a Black woman, and I don't often see us at the table, having a voice or having anything that we say be applied when these changes are happening,"Nwofor said.

"I thinkit's very important to only have BIPOCpeople at these tables. It feels like white people are very well-represented everywhere within the police force I think it's very important for BIPOC to be leading in the consultation in any and all of these things that are dealing with anti-racism."

Neufeld said CPS does not want to consult by invitation, and admitted it is a challenge to determine who wants to be engaged and consulted on the anti-racism work.

"We want to get to the voices that we wouldn't otherwise hear," Neufeld said. "There's all kinds of individuals and groups reaching out to us, which we think is good. And it's just a matter of trying to manage that, and making sure that we can, I guess, meet expectations."

Ultimately, Neufeld said that CPS was committed to making progress on its initiatives but would need time to realize them fully.

"What we need, for the next several months, may not be what we need after that. So, to try to tell you what exactly the structure is and who's involved for the long termwe don't have that yet," Neufeld said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.