A Call to Action: How the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has influenced policing policy and practice in Ontario.

Abstract

Indigenous peoples in Canada are impacted by current socio-economic marginality, colonialism, and intergenerational trauma that perpetuates systemic racism, overrepresentation within the criminal justice system, and a paradox of over and under-policing. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) detailed the roles of colonialism and fostered an environment for reconciliation through the Calls to Action. The current research aims to examine how police policy, practice, and training in Southern Ontario has been modified to include the justice Calls for Action set out by the TRC and the extent to which police interactions with Indigenous peoples has been affected following the publication of the TRC. This research will aim to answer the main question; how do police officers understand the TRC within the context of their role in the justice system, professional training, and decision making? Using the theoretical framework of decolonization, social constructionism, and critical race theory, this research will also explore how police officers understand the TRC, how the TRC has influenced police training, how the justice principles from the TRC have been implemented into the application of the law, and how police policy can be changed to address the present overrepresentation of Indigenous adults and youth in the criminal justice system. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine police officers from the Kitchener-Waterloo Regional Police Service and the Halton Regional Police Service. Data analysis was conducted through thematic content analysis and coding methods found in grounded theory. The findings of this research indicate that the TRC Report and specifically Calls to Action numbers 30, 31, 38, 42, 50, and 57, have had minimal impact on influencing police policy or application of the law to correct the present overrepresentation of Indigenous adults and youth in the criminal justice system.