Knowledge Mobilization with Black and Racialized Communities on the Topic of Use of Force in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area

This presentation shows racial disparities in use-of-force data from police services in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities have long identified these disparities in Canada. While their concerns were often dismissed, the Ontario government mandated in 2020 that police collect race-based use-of-force data under the Anti-Racism Act, 2018.

After five years of data collection, the issue of racial disparities in use-of-force persists. Specifically, Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities continue to face a disproportionate amount of extreme use of force compared to White communities. Analysis of use-of-force data from 2023 and 2024 shows that Racialized youth, Indigenous men and women, uniquely suffer from extreme use of force at higher rates. This pattern highlights a severe and targeted impact on racialized communities. Taken together, these findings underscore the urgent need for the provincial government and police services to develop and publicly commit to concrete policy and transparent accountability measures to address ongoing disparities in their interactions with Black, Indigenous, and Racialized communities.