A recent survey has put a spotlight on public sentiment regarding police and RCMP after a series of incidents across Canada have highlighted systemic racism in policing.
These include the RCMP’s failure to protect Mi’kmaq lobster fishers in Nova Scotia from violent mobs attacking their livelihoods, and the acquittal of an Ottawa police officer charged with the death of a Black man.
As a result, the survey conducted by Angus Reid Institute found that 63 per cent of Canadians think systemic racism is a serious problem for the RCMP, while 73 per cent say police interact inappropriately with non-white people at least some of the time.
Responses vary starkly depending on generational and political differences, and calls to defund police departments are not widely supported.
But a majority — over 60 per cent — do think that investing in social welfare strategies in high crime areas is more effective than increasing police presence.
Overall, Indigenous people were most likely to say there are serious problems with how they and Black people are treated by police.
However Black people and other people of colour are less likely to see a problem than Caucasians.
Those who live in rural areas are far less likely to think there is an issue with police treatment of minorities — 40 per cent of respondents living in rural areas say there is no problem, compared to just 27 per cent in urban settings.
In B.C., 67 per cent of respondents say police act inappropriately towards people of colour, at least some of the time, with 32 per cent saying it’s a “serious problem”. Only 16 per cent think there is no problem.
These sentiments vary across provinces, age groups, and political leanings.
Half of all respondents aged 18 to 24 years old see systemic racism in policing as a serious problem across Canada — 47 per cent of respondents aged 25 to 34 years old and 41 per cent of respondents aged 35 to 44 agree with this assessment.
As respondents’ age groups increase, the likelihood of seeing the police as a racist institution decreases.
Differences in opinion on this subject are vast when it comes to people’s political leanings.
Conservative Party supporters are far less likely to see a problem with the way police interact with BIPOC, while NDP, Liberal Party and Green party supporters mostly believe there is a serious problem.
Most respondents did agree on one subject: accountability within police jurisdictions is sorely lacking and reforms are necessary.
“Critics say that the current system which often relies on ‘police investigating police’ is insufficient to introduce true accountability,” reads the Angus Reid report.
“Indeed, among the seven provincial investigation units that currently operate in Canada, 111 of the 168 are former officers…”
Overall, a whopping 73 per cent of respondents said police officers are not held accountable when they abuse their power.
Most survey respondents do believe that the amount of funding police received is “just right” and do not support defunding the institution.
However, nearly two-thirds favour increased funding of social welfare programs, like mental health resources and housing, to curb crime rates than a higher police presence.
In a gender breakdown of responses, far more women are likely to support this stance than men.
These results are based on an Angus Reid Institute online survey from August 26 – September 1, 2020 among a representative randomized sample of 5,005 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.
For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Click here to read the full report.
