Guelph Mercury Tribune article: Guelph police used force disproportionately against Black people in 2020

Guelph Police Association – Letter to the Editor – 2021.04.14

RE: Guelph Mercury Tribune article: Guelph police used force disproportionately against Black people in 2020 – 2021.04.12

On April 12, 2021, the Guelph Mercury Tribune published the article: “Guelph police used force disproportionately against Black people in 2020.” This was the first year that police services were asked to include details on the race of those involved in use of force incidents, and it presents an opportunity for constructive discussions.

It is the intent of the Guelph Police Association to reinforce our members’ commitment to understanding and responding to the challenges faced by Guelph’s diverse communities while highlighting the shortcomings of the statistical comparisons made within this article.

First, the article compares the percentage of Black individuals that were involved in use of force incidents with the Guelph Police Service against the total percentage of Guelph citizens that are Black. This is problematic as it fails to appreciate that Guelph Police Service is responsible for interacting with anyone present in the City of Guelph, not just citizens. At any given time, individuals from other jurisdictions may be in our community for myriad reasons. 

Second, comparing use of force rates to population percentage by race is flawed as it fails to consider innumerable other socio-economic factors that lead to disproportionate interactions between police and the public such as mental health and addiction, lack of housing, poverty, rates of victimization, crime rates, and crime severity rates. Many of these issues are a by-product of historical systemic issues, for which the Guelph Police Association actively advocates for meaningful, evidence-based change.

Third, it should be noted, in 2020, the Guelph Police Service attended 78,794 calls for service and interacted with tens of thousands of individuals, yet only used force against 84 people during these interactions. This demonstrates the professionalism and de-escalation abilities of our members.

Articles that utilize misleading statistical comparisons can be unnecessarily divisive. The Guelph Police Association and our 318 sworn and civilian police personnel members are committed to building trust and mutual respect with all communities who live and work in our city. We acknowledge that systemic societal issues – such as mental health and addictions, housing and poverty – continue to impact Guelph and other cities across the province, and we are committed to advocating for greater funding and supports to address to the root causes of these issues.

Matt Jotham

President

Guelph Police Association