Provincial and municipal politicians love to say they’re against police “carding” because then they don’t have to say what should replace it.
In fact, the term has become a dogwhistle used by politicians seeking to curry favour with police critics.
That is, coded language meant to imply that since the police are inherently racist, they can’t be trusted to question anyone during a street check, in particular anyone who is not already part of a police investigation.
The problem is that if police can’t talk to people in their community about crime in the community, or sort and codify that information beyond talking to criminals or suspected criminals, then they can’t do their jobs.
Good policing is primarily about information gathering.
“Banning” carding without putting anything in its place solves nothing.
Indeed, it is a threat to effective policing and constitutes undue interference by politicians in the day-to-day operations of police forces, which is the responsibility of police chiefs.
more
When politicians ban carding, what replaces it? | EDITORIAL | Editorial | Opinio
In fact, the term has become a dogwhistle used by politicians seeking to curry favour with police critics.
That is, coded language meant to imply that since the police are inherently racist, they can’t be trusted to question anyone during a street check, in particular anyone who is not already part of a police investigation.
The problem is that if police can’t talk to people in their community about crime in the community, or sort and codify that information beyond talking to criminals or suspected criminals, then they can’t do their jobs.
Good policing is primarily about information gathering.
“Banning” carding without putting anything in its place solves nothing.
Indeed, it is a threat to effective policing and constitutes undue interference by politicians in the day-to-day operations of police forces, which is the responsibility of police chiefs.
more
When politicians ban carding, what replaces it? | EDITORIAL | Editorial | Opinio