Racialized Policing

Overview

Taking on the controversial subject of racial profiling by Canadian police, this book explores how ethnicity and discrimination play out in institutional practices and systemic processes, exposing the ways in which policing is racialized. The volume draws on the historical records and contemporary cases of Aboriginal–police relations—such as the shootings of J. J. Harper and Matthew Dumas by Winnipeg police officers and the “Starlight Tours” in Saskatoon—as well as interviews conducted with Aboriginal people in Winnipeg’s inner-city communities, examining how race and racism inform the routine practices of police officers and how they affect their encounters with Aboriginal people. Arguing that resolution requires a fundamental transformation in the structure and organization of policing, this bold analysis makes suggestions for reframing the role of police as well as their peacekeeping efforts.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Comack is a professor and the head of the sociology department at the University of Manitoba. She is the author of Criminalizing Women, Locating Law, Out There/In Here, The Power to Criminalize, and Women in Trouble. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Donald E. Worme is a lawyer specializing in criminal law and Aboriginal rights litigation. He is appointed to the Indigenous Peoples Counsel and is a recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Law and Justice. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.