Canadian Policing: Why and How it Must Change

by Kent Roach

Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change is a comprehensive and critical examination of Canadian policing from its colonial origins to its response to the February 2022 blockades and occupations. Police shootings in June 2020 should dispel any complacency that Canada does not face similar policing problems as the United States, and a vicious circle of overpolicing and underprotection plagues many intersecting disadvantaged groups. Multiple accountability measures — criminal investigations, Charter litigation, complaints, and discipline — have not improved Canadian policing. What is required is more active and proactive governance by the boards, councils, and ministers that are responsible for Canada’s police. Governance should respect law enforcement independence and discretion while rejecting overbroad claims of police operational independence and self-governance.

Even before pandemic-related deficits, the costs of the public police were not sustainable — these budgets require fundamental change without expansion. Such change should include greater service delivery by more expert and cost-effective health, social service, and community agencies. Indigenous police services — unfortunately, Canada’s only chronically and unconstitutionally underfunded police services — can also play a positive role. To that end, Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change offers concrete proposals for reforms to the RCMP, use of force policies, better community safety plans, and more democratic policing.

350 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2022

Reviews

[Shelby Hohmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well-researched and makes a lot of compelling arguments for the best way forward for policing in Canada. Roach tries to do the very difficult task of proposing changes that he think will actually result in less violent, more effective & safer policing for all while also trying to be realistic about what's actually possible in our legal and political framework. Not easy. Still, I think he overemphasizes the distinction between the paramilitary/colonial policing model (the Irish Constabulary, the RCMP) and the civilian policing model (Peel's principles, sorta kinda Canada's municipal police services). For a good civilian policing model, he looks to the UK a lot. I'm just not convinced that could or would ever work here. Policing in Canada is always done in the context of a colonial, settler state, and no matter how much decriminalization or democratic oversight or governing bodies/governing legislation there is around police in Canada, I do think it will always be a colonial arm of the state used to protect private property and the interests of the wealthy few. Roach doesn't really address this at all, I think because he would say it's outside the scope of his book, but it really shouldn't be.
His bits about detasking the police are good & definitely a much-needed first step.
Some of the stats he shares about strip searching and the over-use of the Nasogaluak precedent by courts and various politicians and policing professionals ("police actions should not be judged against a standard of perfection") are pretty freaky.

[Marcello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book I found it wasn’t for me but it brings up some good points