Saskatoon police board to discuss proposed carding policy

Saskatoon police are explicitly stating that race alone either real or perceived cannot constitute grounds for stopping someone to ask them for information.

Being in a high-crime area alsodoesn't call for an identification check, according to a draft of Saskatoon police's Contact Interview Policy, which is set to be discussedatthe Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners Thursday afternoon.

It comes in response to a Saskatchewan Police Commission policy that was announced last year.

Contact interviews, commonly known as 'carding' or 'street checks,' are initiated by officers when there isn'ta specific offence they're asking about, according to apolice review.

People are not legally required to answer questions, and while there have been calls for police to disclose that beforecarding someone, the review does not sayit's a requirement for officers.

The review also states that all officers will receive training in implicit bias subconscious feelings that may affect the way they relate to people of different races.

• Police should provide your rights when carding: U of S law professor

Indigenous woman shares carding experience

Carding is a topic that Emily Bear feels passionateabout.

The Indigenous woman from Saskatoon saysshe was out for a walk in 2015 the last time an officer asked for her ID. She was wearing sweat pants and a hoodie.

Bear saidthe officer told her she matched the description of someone they were looking for.

"At first I was in shock because I was like really deep in thought in my walk," she said.

"Then this wave of rage came over me. I'm like, do I match the description, like is this actually what this person looks like or is it the fact that I look that I'm Indigenous that I was Native and I'm dressed in more casual clothing as opposed to what I would normally wear?"

She said being stopped by police was something that initially scared her when she was younger,but she became desensitised to it over time since it happened fairly regularly.

Still, her feelings about talking to police weren't positive.

"When it was happening to me it felt like I was doing something wrong for just being in that area, or just walking there," she said.

When she had children of her own, she started wondering if they would have to be careful about what they wear for fear that they'd be stopped in the street by police.

"I'm just more cognitive about how I dress in public, which is sad I think," she said.

Carding of Indigenous people 'the elephant in the room'

Looking over the contact interview review, Bearsees progress has been made.

For example, the police review states contact interviews "may only be conducted in a manner that respects and protects the rights of the public...and may not be conducted by members of SPS on a random or arbitrary basis."

However, she said the revamped policy is missing something: it doesn't mention the word Indigenous.

"That's the elephant in the room," she said.

"Let's acknowledge that this happens to Indigenous people. This is something that for us this is a norm, and that's why they're having this public agenda," Bear said.

The review's reference to controversialcarding is limited to a few lines.

"Criticisms pertaining to a small portion of the intelligence gathering process, commonly referred to as 'carding' has resulted in a considerable amount of discussion in the public forum," the review said.

According to the review, all officers will receive initial training on the new carding policy by this spring.

Reasons officers must have for contact interviews:

• There's no reason for a person to be in a commercial, industrial area
• Person is acting in a concerning way
• Person appears lost or in need of assistance

Reasons officers can't stop you for a contact interview:

• Location in an area known to experience high levels of criminal activity and/or victimization
• Actual or perceived race, ethnicity or national origin
• Colour
• Religion
• Age
• Gender, gender identity or sexual orientation
• Other things like "socio-economic circumstances"