Carding (police policy)

In Canada, carding, officially known in Ontario as the Community Contacts Policy, is an intelligence gathering policy involving the stopping, questioning, and documenting of individuals when no particular offence is being investigated. The interactions take place in public, private or any place police have contact with the public. The information collected is kept on record in the Field Information Report (FIR) database. FIRs include details including the individuals' gender, race, the reason for the interaction, location, and the names of any associates, to build a database for unspecified future use. Officially, individuals are not legally detained, but this distinction is not clear.
Carding programs have been shown to consume a considerable amount of police resources, with little to no verifiable results on the level of crime. Carding is also known to contribute to a disproportionate amount of black and Indigenous people being recorded in law enforcement databases. Consequences for Indigenous and racialized populations include mental and physical health problems, loss of trust with the police, disparities within the criminal justice system, and social disadvantage, including potential loss of educational and employment opportunities.
In summer of 2014, the Toronto Police Service discontinued the use of physical hard copy cards; officers were instead directed to enter the information captured during community engagements into their memobook as Community Safety Notes, which may be retained for a maximum of seven years. Ontario's 2014 Counter Terrorism Plan directs police to ensure carding intelligence "is shared regularly with key partners", including Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Meaning.
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray stated that the distinction between carding and police-civilian interactions depends upon whether or not the information collected is recorded. In 2017, the Vancouver Police Department definition of a "street check" is when an officer stops a person to conduct an interview or investigation in regards to suspicious activity or a suspected crime. In 2018, the Vancouver Police Department clarified that an incident is only considered a "street check" when an officer successfully records an individual's personal information.
Kevin Brookwell, a spokesman for the Calgary Police Service, claimed that the term "carding" originated in Eastern Canada, though Lethbridge Police Chief Rob Davis asserted that the term "carding" originated in the United States, and that a street check is not stop and frisk. Waterloo Police Chief Bryan Larkin claims officers card individuals to determine how people connect to each other. Halifax Regional Police says officers also conduct passive street checks, where records are based on observations rather than interactions.
The Victoria Police Department defines street checks as “when a police officer proactively conducts a field interview or investigation with a member of the public related to suspicious activity or a suspected crime”.
Scope.
Ontario regulations constraining carding came to effect at the beginning of 2017, changing the scope of carding in Ontario cities.
Criticism.
Opposition to carding is widespread, with testimony and a news organization investigation indicating that carding in Toronto primarily targets Black Canadians. The Law Union of Ontario submitted that carding implements a systematic violation of people's Charter rights, human rights, and privacy rights. The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman believes the practice of carding is illegal.
On , the Canadian Civil Liberties Association denounced carding as "unlawful and unconstitutional" to the Toronto Police Services Board.
On , the Ontario Human Rights Commission formally notified the Toronto Police Services Board that the practice of carding must be stopped.
On , in "Elmardy v. TPSB", Ontario Superior Court Justice Frederick Myers ruled "One who is not being investigated for criminality is allowed to walk down the street on a cold night with his or her hands in the pockets and to tell inquisitive police officers to get lost without being detained, searched, exposed to sub-zero temperatures, or assaulted."
On , Ruth Goba, Interim Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Commission Rights Commission, 
stated that when Hamilton Police Chief De Caire requires police officers to be "stopping, talking and investigating young black males", the Hamilton Police Service is implementing a textbook description of racial profiling. On , Hamilton Councillor Matthew Green, a public official in Hamilton opposed to police carding, was carded by the Hamilton Police Service.
After a fact finding mission in October 2016, the United Nations' Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent expressed concerns that racial profiling is endemic to carding strategies and practices used by Canadian law enforcement.
On , Mike Ellis, MLA for Calgary-West, stated that carding violates Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
On , Halifax Regional Police released statistics showing police were three times as likely to card blacks than whites. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil responded, "I don't think it's acceptable anywhere. I think I was startled, like most Nova Scotians, by the stats that were brought out". Mayor Michael Savage said the numbers concerned him, and he would press the force to gather more information to determine why the checks were done and what police were looking for. In April 2017 the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission announced that it will lead an investigation into the practice of carding in Halifax.
On , the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association filed a complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of British Columbia over carding of Indigenous and black people in Vancouver. Both British Columbian Premier John Horgan and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson have expressed concern over city police's use of street checks.
On , Josh Paterson, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, told the Vancouver Police Board, "There has been a long-standing debate about whether street checks as one of the tools of policing are effective, and there is some evidence to show it’s not necessarily that conclusive."
On , the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition called for a moratorium on street checks until the lawfulness of existing practices has been clarified. Whenever a subject's information is recorded the interaction means that, at least in the broadest sense of the phrase, the person recorded becomes "known to police." The threshold where authorities will report that someone is "known" to them varies, and can have a pejorative effect as the phrase "known to police" is often more strictly understood by the public to mean the person in question has previously been convicted of criminal offenses.
In , the City of Montreal released a report finding systemic bias in street checks performed by officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the police force for the city of Montreal, Quebec, during 2014–⁠2017. Indigenous and black people were shown to be between 4 and 5 times more likely to be carded than white people, while Indigenous women constitute a group particularly targeted, 11 times more likely to be questioned by the SVPM than white women.
On , Victoria councillors unanimously approved a motion that calls on the Victoria Police Department to end street checks in Victoria. The motion notes that the practice of street checks goes against the city’s strategic plan of creating a welcoming environment for all people, and highlights that police boards and police departments should take into account the priorities of local communities when establishing operational policies.
Oversight.
There is an ongoing debate around what ability police boards have to influence carding operations:
On , the London diversity and race relations advisory committee met to discuss carding practices in the city, though the London Police Service officer dedicated to race relations did not attend the meeting.
In the 2016/2017 Annual Report for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, the British Columbia Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner cited ongoing concerns with the collection of identifying information by police, and expressed an expectation that either the Vancouver Police Board or the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia would create a policy on carding. On , Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer ordered an investigation into complaints from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs that carding practices are unfairly targeting minorities. A public report will be submitted to the Vancouver Police Board .
On , the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission selected an independent expert, Dr. Scot Wortley, of the University of Toronto Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies to undertake a investigation into the Halifax Regional Police Service's use of street checks and the impact such checks may have on the Black community, the final report is expected in the Fall of 2018. On , the "Halifax, Nova Scotia: Street Checks Report" was tabled at the Halifax Central Library. The report notes that “Every year from 2006 to 2017, Black people have been five to six times more likely to appear in street check statistics than their representation in the general population would predict.”
On , the Saskatchewan Police Commission created policy OC 150 Contact Interviews with the Public, which constrains carding based on an individuals race or location. On , Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper rejected requests from University of Saskatchewan law professor Glen Luther to record the race of carded individuals, stating "We know that people and agencies that have tried to do that get a lot of inaccurate data because it relies on the officer's description and perception of race, and that's often inaccurate". On , Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper stated that Saskatoon police officers will soon be trained in how to conduct contact interviews.
On , the Edmonton Police Commission released the City of Edmonton Street Check Policy and Practice Review prepared by Curt Griffiths of the Simon Fraser University School of Criminology. On , the Edmonton Police Service responded to the street check review. In this response, the service provided implementation dates for 7 of the 17 recommendations.
On , the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General released the Report of the Independent Street Checks Review 2018 prepared by Judge Michael H. Tulloch of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
On , the Ontario Provincial Police Association issued a press release stating that "racism and arbitrary street checks have no place in policing".
On , the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners placed a request to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission to review the legality of police street checks; the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission confirmed that J. Michael MacDonald, former Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, agreed to help with the review.
Regulation.
On , Ontario announced that it will develop a new regulation to regulate police street checks. The Ministry of the Solicitor General has held a series of five workshop-style public meetings across the province:
, during debate in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Yasir Naqvi, minister of community safety and correctional services, announced that regulation banning random street checks would be in place by the end of the fall, and will become part of the Police Services Act of Ontario, and includes: 
On , the Ministry of the Solicitor General, posted two draft regulations for public input on the random and arbitrary collection of identifying information by police. On , a coalition of community organisations and individuals issued a joint response to the draft regulation, articulating a rights-based framework for policing aimed at prohibiting carding, which they deemed discriminatory against minorities in Canada.
On , the Ontario Association of Chief of Police's Board of Directors unanimously passed a submission on Proposed Regulations to the Police Services Act: "Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties" and Proposed Amendments to the Schedule to O.Reg. 268/10 (Code of Conduct).
On , the Ministry of the Solicitor General, filed Ontario Regulation 58/16: Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties,<ref name="Ontario-Regulation-58/16"></ref> which sets out rules for carding. The Government of Ontario will also launch a multi-year academic study on the impact of carding.
On , the African Canadian Legal Clinic, issued a press release stating that the new regulation "fails to fully and finally provide adequate protection for the fundamental rights and freedoms of African Canadians".
On , the Board of Directors of the Toronto Police Association, issued a memo to its membership stating that the new regulation is "counterproductive to proactive community engagement and crime prevention".
On , the Toronto Police Services Board revised policy 250: Regulated Interaction with the Community and the Collection of Identifying Information
to ensure compliance with Ontario Regulation 58/16, the Police Services Act of Ontario, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). In addition the policy restricted service members from accessing Historical Contact Data, except as needed to 
provide an auditable trail as required by law (e.g. evidence in a matter before the courts).
On , the Ministry of the Solicitor General appointed Justice Michael Tulloch of the Ontario Court of Appeal to conduct an independent review of Ontario Regulation 58/16.<ref name="Order in Council 1058/2017"></ref> Tulloch's report into the challenges and validity of police carding is expected to be produced in January 2019. As part of this review, twelve public consultations are to be held between and in the Greater Toronto Area, and in Thunder Bay, Brampton, Hamilton, Ajax, Markham, Windsor, London, Ottawa and Sudbury.
On , Kathleen Ganley, as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, announced that the government will begin a six week consultation process for drafting provincial guidelines for police street checks and the associated collection of personally identifiable information. On , David Khan, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, expressed disappointment that after 18 month, this process has not yet produced tangible results.
On , the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission hired University of Toronto criminology professor Scot Wortley, to conduct an independent review of street checks conducted by the Halifax Regional Police. The deadline for releasing findings was originally , but this release has been postponed until .
On , Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa—Vanier) introduced a private member's bill (Bill 164, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017), which expands human rights protections in a number of ways, including making it illegal to discriminate against individuals that have been carded by police.
On , the Saskatchewan Police Commission issued policy OC150 - Contact Interviews with the Public.
On , the Attorney General and Justice Minister of Nova Scotia Mark Furey, issued a provincial moratorium on street check quotas, and the use of street checks as a performance measurement tool On , Furey, issued a provincial moratorium on street checks..
, the Attorney General of British Columbia introduced interim section 6.2.1 of the Provincial Policing Standards, requiring the police board or, in the case of the provincial police force, the commissioner, must officers with written policy that ensures interactions with community members, remain consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the values they reflect.
On , the Justice Minister of Alberta Kaycee Madu introduced Bill 63, the Police (Street Checks and Carding) Amendment Act, 2021.
Responses.
In 2015, Christien Levien, a law school graduate, created Legalswipe, an app that draws from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's "know your rights" handbook, and guides people through police encounters.
On , University of Toronto criminologists Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner presented a report "Understanding the impact of Police Stops" to the Toronto Police Services Board, among the conclusions was that benefits from carding are "substantially outweighed by convincing evidence of the harm of such practices both to the person subject to them and to the long term and overall relationship of the police to the community".
In April 2021, the Native Counselling Services of Alberta released a wallet-sized card to help Indigenous people know their rights if stopped by police