Expect resistance and pushback as you try to change systemic racism in policing, experts warn
A report into systemic racism was released by London police after a request by CBC News
Tackling the systemic racism within the London police service and gaining back the trust of diverse communities will take time and come with pushback, experts say.
The report, finished in 2021 but made public because of a freedom of information request by CBC News, details the mistreatment Black, Indigenous and people of colour in London face at the hands of police and the closed culture within the ranks that stops diverse officers from feeling included and able to grow their careers.
Also included in the report were comments from White, male officers who said they felt diverse and female candidates were being hired and promoted at the expense of quality and effectiveness, an opposition to change experts say is common.
"It will feel terrible for those people who have been benefiting from that power and privilege all along," said Vanessa Ambtman-Smith, an Indigenous scholar who studies how organizations can push past colonial structures, particularly in the health care field. She was also the first Indigenous woman to sit on London's police services board.
"We have an understanding of what the current state of things is, and now comes the point where the rubber hits the road. There's going to be pushback," Ambtman-Smith said.
"We know the tension is going to exist. People who have carried a relative amount of power and privilege are going to feel that there is transformation happening within their own structures and it does not feel comfortable to them."
The trick will be to make sure that Black, Indigenous and people of colour who are starting to benefit from the changes aren't the ones who feel the blowback that comes with change, Ambtman-Smith said.
"The leadership has to be supportive because if the culture remains the same, there will be growing resentment and tension among those who see this as an injustice, when really you're just righting the wrongs and starting to shift the power. It will feel terrible for those people who have been benefiting from that power and privilege all along."
Concrete goals and measures needed
Indigenous community members who took part in the internal review of systemic racism detailed times when their sacred medicines were disrespected, and domestic violence survivors spoke of being dismissed and stereotyped.
WATCH | How experts in the field of D&I see the police report findings
Chief Thai Truong, London's first diverse top cop, has pledged to change the culture of policing in the city, admitting that it will take time. He will call on experts in diversity, equity and inclusion on how best to do things, Truong said.
The changes will have to come with concrete goals and ways to measure success, said Sunil Gurmukh, a Western University law professor who teaches courses in racial profiling in policing and hate speech.
Police chief wants more officer training
"What seems to be missing in this report is robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms to address systemic racism," he said. "It's the absence of these mechanisms that may contribute to systemic racism itself. Systemic racism in policing includes inadequate monitoring and accountability measures to prevent racism, and that's concerning."
There should also be a deep dive into service policies, practices and procedures, Gurmukh said, as well as a look at broad race-based data collection and analysis.
It will take time to change the culture within policing and support for young people within diverse communities who want to become officers, said Leroy Hibbert, a Black leader in London whose work focuses on multicultural outreach.
"Interactions with police officers leave a very large imprint on the community because people may feel unsafe, they may be hesitant to call because of the history that individuals and communities have had. We have to think, 'How can we help law enforcement understand our story?'"
Truong has said he wants to increase police training in London from two weeks following graduation from the Ontario Police College to seven weeks, and include cultural competency training.
"Officers need to have an idea of the people they are going to be serving," Hibbert said. "Just because you have people of colour in an organization does not mean by default that racism will stop. It's about what we do with the people who are there."
Researchers, who conducted in-depth interviews as well as a survey of officers, found the majority of White respondents held negative views about hiring and believed it was unfair to White heterosexual men. Both White and diverse officers felt performance appraisals and anti-bias training they got were mere formalities.
The findings are not surprising, said Lesley Bikos, an assistant professor at King's University College who studies police culture. A study she published in 2022 called Taking the temperature: An intersectional examination of diversity acceptance in Canadian police services, found resistance to recruitment and promotion of racialized women and men within 31 police services across the country, and that a "significant proportion of White women and some racialized men also upheld these ideologies."
"This work clearly revealed that white supremacy and patriarchy remain entrenched in the institution in structural ways such as policies and procedures, cultural norms and values, and who continues to be considered the most 'competent' and valued police officer," Bikos, who is also a former London police constable, told CBC News.
She added that attempts to change institutions usually meet resistance, and listening to marginalized groups within the police and in the community is key to reducing harm and making any transformation successful.
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