Hamilton police still using force disproportionately on Black people: report

For the fourth year in a row, Black people were over-represented in public interactions where Hamilton police used force.

That's according to the Hamilton Police Service's annual Use of Force Report, presented at a police services board meeting Thursday.

According to the police-reported statistics, in 2023, Black people were the subject of 17 per cent of use of force incidents, though the group makes up just five per cent of Hamilton's population.

The report found people of Middle Eastern descent and Indigenous people were also over-represented in use of force incidents with Hamilton police. 

"Use of force" refers to police interactions with the public where a firearm or Taser is drawn, pointed or discharged, another weapon is used on a person, or physical force results in an injury requiring medical attention.

The inclusion of race-based data started in 2020, as part of a provincial mandate, to expose any racial biases or stereotyping within police services. When force is used, police report the person's race based on their perception of their race.

Last year's 2022 report had a near identical percentage of Black people represented in use of force incidents. That report included analysis that called the ratio a "gross over-representation."

Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen told the board that police have worked hard to confront the disparity, saying they've held "countless" town halls on the issue and implemented an equity, diversity and inclusion strategy.

"We are listening. We are being agile to their demands," he said. "We are working hard on this. Can we do better? Yes. Will we do better? Yes."

Statistics need to lead to action, say advocates

Advocates questioned how much Hamilton police have accomplished since race-based use of force data was first reported four years ago.

Kojo Damptey, a community researcher and instructor at McMaster University who spoke as a delegate at Thursday's meeting, wondered what any of that work has accomplished. 

"We can train and train and train and train," he told the board, "but if the numbers are not changing, nothing is happening."

Ameil Joseph, an associate professor in the school of social work at McMaster University, said police are ignoring the needs of racialized communities.

"The report is deeply problematic as it demonstrates an ongoing multi-year failure to respond to the disproportionate use of police violence on racialized groups," he said in an email.

"At this stage, an independent inquiry and response, with community feedback is required. This can no longer be left to HPS to address, people are being violently harmed."

In an interview after the board meeting, Deputy Chief Paul Hamilton said police take those comments seriously, and a community advisory panel was created this year to improve communication with diverse communities in the city and root out discrimination.

Racialized community members previously told CBC they had concerns with the advisory panel and suggested it should be independent from the police service.

On Friday, Hamilton said police also actively recruit within racialized communities in an effort to have a force that better reflects the city it serves.

"While these numbers are small, we know they still have a big impact on those affected communities," he said. "Our goal is to address systematic issues and improve fairness and equity in policing." 

Other groups also over-represented, report finds

The report found two other racialized groups were also over-represented in use of force incidents with Hamilton police. 

People of Middle Eastern descent, who represent four per cent of Hamilton's population, were the subject of nine per cent of incidents where force was used. 

Indigenous people, who make up two per cent of the population, accounted for four per cent of those incidents. However, police noted that the sample size for Indigenous people was small, with 17 instances of force reported for that racialized group.

White people represented the highest percentage of subjects involved in use of force incidents, at 64 per cent. The group represents 74 per cent of Hamilton's population.

Police at Thursday's meeting said the use of force data collection process improved in 2023 over previous years.

There were fewer duplicate reports, as officers were no longer mandated to file individual reports on the same incident. And race-based data collection improved, as officers were able to report the race of all individuals in an interaction. Before, they were only able to report on three subjects, even if more people were involved in an incident.

"The change in reporting requirements makes year over year comparisons analytically challenging for analyzing reports versus incidents," this year's report said. 

In 2023, there were 265 use of force incidents, resulting in 361 reports submitted to the solicitor general. In some instances, multiple officers still file reports on the same incident.

Use of force incidents made up about 0.1 per cent of all Hamilton police interactions with the public in 2023, according to the report.