Police officers in our province could soon collect race-based data during routine stops.
The province has announced it will adopt the recommendations outlined by the Wortley Report Research Committee tasked with reviewing the practice.
The report recommends the justice minister mandate the collection of race-based data to determine if certain groups of people are disproportionately stopped by police.
“Information gathered at police stops will identify over-representation when it occurs and help police improve interactions with African Nova Scotian, Indigenous and other racialized Nova Scotians,” a news release says. “This will allow for the evaluation of policies and practices and improve transparency and accountability.”
The committee was established in the wake of the Wortley report three years ago.
It found Black people in Halifax were about six times more likely to be targeted by random police stops.
“There is no place for racism in our justice system. It must be addressed at every level. These recommendations will guide the development of a data collection model for police stops that will help ensure police practices and interactions are free from discrimination,” Justice Minister Brad Johns says.
Street checks have been banned in our province since 2019.
The province says the next step is to develop best practices for developing a standardized collection model to gather the data.
