Vancouver's mayor is calling for an end to the practice of street checks by Vancouver police. Mayor Kennedy Stewart who also chairs the Park Board will put forth a motion in council to direct the board to make the change a priority.
As chair, Stewart cannot vote on the motion himself. Stewart says data gathered from the VPD show that between 2007 and 2018, Black and Indigenous people were "significantly over-represented" in the almost 100,000 street checks conducted by the force. Compared to last year, Vancouver police say they’ve done 91 per cent fewer street checks in 2020.
A street check is defined as "the practice of stopping a person outside of an investigation, often obtaining and recording their personal information." Many people see street checking as police harassment and racial profiling, as well as evidence of systematic racism within police forces. The VPD has argued that street checks are a "valuable proactive crime prevention tool."
According to the VPD, a street check happens "when a police officer encounters someone believed to be involved in criminal activity or a suspicious circumstance, and documents the interaction. They are not random or arbitrary checks." However, Stewart feels its time to put an end to street checks altogether.
