Chair of police commissioners board says look into street checks should have come sooner

By Katie Hartai

The Board of Police Commissioners was updated on the street check investigation at it's meeting Monday, and chair of the board says although he is pleased with the investigation's progress, it is long overdue.

The investigation was officially launched in mid-September to look into the Halifax Regional Police Service's use of street checks and the impact they have on the black community. 

Tasked with reviewing police street check data, Dr. Scot Wortley outlined what has been accomplished to date and his research plan for the upcoming months. 

He says he met with officials from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and HRP, diving into a literature review about race relations within the province. As well, he says he held four community meetings and has made plans for an internet survey.

Chair of the board Steve Craig says Dr. Wortley's findings can't come soon enough. 

“People usually are not nice and accepting of others, and we need to be able to focus on that,” Craig said. “So when we have an opportunity to address things individually and as an organization, I thought this could have been done long ago.”

The final report will be tabled in the fall of 2018. 

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