Anti-Racism Blog Series | Understanding Race-Based Data
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(15 mins read)
Introduction
ActionDignity offers this new Anti-Racism Blog Series to support our readers and communities in growing our understanding of race, racism, and anti-racism. We hope the blog series will support readers in practicing critical thinking and critical literacy. Critical thinking and critical literacy do not mean criticizing, but instead, they mean reading with a questioning mind. Critical literacy requires us to ask questions about what we are reading – wondering about why specific words are used, asking questions about why and how data was collected, and asking about the context and history of issues.
We start this blog series with the article on Race-based Data and will expand over time to the many issues that impact systemic racism. All race-based data helps the organization that collected it gain clarity about their own patterns of behaviour. In this beginning blog post about Race-based Data, we take the data the Calgary Police Service released and look at it through a critical literacy, anti-racism lens to understand what it says about police patterns of behaviour. We hope this blog will demonstrate how readers can look at future race-based data reports as well.
(The bolded terms in the article indicate the terms that are included in the Glossary at the bottom of the page)
The Calgary Police Service Race Data Analysis Report
On September 25, 2024, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) released its 2023 Race Data Analysis. This report describes the race-based data the CPS collected and analyzed to examine the connection of race to “various forms of contact between the CPS officers and members of the public” (Calgary Police Service, 2024, p. 2). The analysis reports on: missing persons, officer contacts, victims of violent crime, offenders of violent and property crime, and use-of-force by the police.
On November 1, 2024, ActionDignity hosted a Community Conversation Circle to discuss the CPS Race-based Data Report. Community members shared their concerns about accountability, advocacy, data gathering, and questions about how this data will impact the CPS actions. ActionDignity followed this conversation with a Knowledge Mobilization Event and invited the CPS representatives to present their findings and answer questions. Not all questions were answered. However, we heard and collected the community’s questions and aim to address them in our Anti-Racism Blog Series.
(Knowledge Mobilization event held by ActionDignity in November 2024)
As the City of Calgary has included the gathering of disaggregated race-based data in its Anti-Racism Strategic Plan, we can expect more race-based data reports to be shared in the future as well. Understanding what race-based data is, how it can be helpful, and how to examine it using an anti-racism lens will help us all to ensure accountability to the data reported.
Race-based Data Background
In 2018, the Government of Canada asked Statistics Canada to start collecting disaggregated race-based data. Race-based data can help reveal how systemic racism impacts Indigenous, Black and Racialized communities in Canada. On June 15, 2020, the Calgary City Council approved the Notice of Motion on Calgary’s Commitment to Anti-Racism. The Council requested that the Calgary Police Commission report on the Police Service’s anti-racism efforts and plans for the future of policing in a diverse city. The Calgary Police Service (CPS) admitted that racism and unfair treatment exist within the Police Service. This discrimination impacts how they serve the community. The CPS promised to take immediate, real actions to create a positive change in their culture. The CPS adopted three key actions from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that will help to deal with systemic discrimination within the Police Service. These actions include changes to collecting numerical data, policies and decision-making processes, and organizational culture. These key actions guide CPS’s commitment to collecting and reporting race-based data.
After the 2020 Calls to Action, initially, only the Toronto and Vancouver Police had shared national reports on race-based data. Since race-based data is needed for understanding and addressing unfair treatment in policing, this limited reporting raised questions around why other police agencies across Canada had not yet gathered disaggregated race-based data. Now that the CPS has shared its 2023 Race-based Data Analysis Report, we can start to examine how the data will help to identify and address systemic discrimination within the Police Service.
What is Race-Based Data?
Race-based data gathers information about people’s racial identity or “race”. This data can be used to identify patterns of behaviour that lead to systemic racism. Race-based data can be aggregated or disaggregated.
Aggregated race-based data combines many of our unique elements into one racial group. This data can create a generalized picture that can be used to contrast trends between racial groups. For example, it can help compare the experiences of Indigenous people with Black people, in Calgary. However, it may miss the full picture of our lived experiences.
Disaggregated race-based data breaks broader groups into sub-groups. For example, the broad racial group of “Black” can be disaggregated into groups based on gender, age, neighborhood, and/or birth country. This is important because the experiences of young Black men born in Calgary, Canada can be different from older Black men born in Lagos, Nigeria who immigrated recently to Calgary. Our age, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, education, language, neighborhood, and country of origin all impact our experiences. Disaggregated data is used to compare how racial groups experience society differently. This data can identify patterns of behaviour that cause systemic racism.
Race-based data, like the aggregated data the Calgary Police Service collected, is important for Public Safety as it can help to highlight patterns of police behaviour.
Reading Data with a Critical Literacy Anti-Racism Lens
Data is one way to tell a story about our human experiences. However, just like any story, it is told from a specific point of view, so all data includes bias. The same data can be presented in different ways to tell different stories. We have a duty to be aware of bias and ask thoughtful questions about any data we are given so we can understand the story it tells. Using critical thinking and critical literacy skills can help us understand bias and better understand the data we read.
Examining the words used in data reports can help us read using critical literacy skills. Every word makes connections in our minds based on our past experiences. For example, the CPS race-based data report uses the term “offender”. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, an “offender” is defined as a “person who has been determined by a court to be guilty of an offence” (Government of Canada, 1985). We can ask: “Does the CPS data represent people who are first arrested/ stopped by the police or people who have been convicted by the court?” Just because someone is arrested or stopped by the police does not necessarily mean that they are guilty of an offence. The word “offender” in the report can make us assume that the people involved are guilty of crimes, but that is not necessarily true. Being aware of this difference is important to understanding the data report.
Another example of a language that holds bias is the phrase “chronic history”. The CPS race-based data report’s section on missing persons states, “Female Indigenous youth with chronic histories are the most overrepresented group.” The word “chronic” means a long-lasting problem that is difficult to stop (Merriam-Webster, 2024). When the report describes missing young Indigenous women as having “chronic histories”, it can make the reader dismiss this issue as an unavoidable problem. Instead, we can challenge this wording and see that the violence young Indigenous women face is because of systemic racism. When looking at this data, it is important to know that the data points to a problem in the system, not a problem with the people. (To learn more about the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls visit: https://afn.ca/rights-justice/murdered-missing-indigenous-women-girls/ )
We can also look at the language used to determine the racial categories used in the data. Race is a social construct, not a biological fact. This means that race is shaped by many social conditions. Where you are, who you are with, how you see yourself, how others see you, and how the law labels you, all affect how you might think about your race. It also impacts how others might identify you. For some people, all these factors lead to the same identity. However, because of interracial relationships, colonialism, and the history of slavery in North America, many people can have different understandings of their own race and the racial identity of others. Many people can identify as the same race but present differently based on their skin colour and features. Much of the CPS data is based on “police perception” (Calgary Police Service, 2024). This means the police guessed the race of the people involved. Someone may self-identify as Indigenous, but the police might report them as White. This means that the CPS data explains how the police engage with people that they perceive to be of differing racial groups.
Overrepresentation vs Over- policing
The CPS Race-based Data Report states that Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in many areas of contacts with the police, for example- Victims of violent crime, officer contacts, and use of force. There are many reasons why some racial groups may be overrepresented in the data; such as poverty, lack of housing, mental health challenges, location, and over–policing. Many of these conditions can overlap with racism to impact overrepresentation in police contact. To gain a clearer picture of what is causing overrepresentation, we can ask: “What conditions make Black and Indigenous people overrepresented in these areas? What role does racism play in this overrepresentation?”
Merriam–Webster Dictionary (2024) defines the term “overrepresented” as “represented excessively.” In race-based data, the number of people affected in each racial group is compared to the entire number of people in that racial group. For example, the CPS data compares the percentage of times the police used force against people they identified as Indigenous to the percentage of the Calgary population that is made up of Indigenous people. In the data, they state that Indigenous people are overrepresented in this area. This means that the police are more likely to use force against people that they think are Indigenous. If one group is overrepresented, it means that the people in that racial group are more affected than should be expected based on their percentage of the population. This over-representation can happen for many reasons. One reason that a group may be overrepresented in police contacts is because of over-policing. Over-policing is “policing excessively as by maintaining a large police presence or by responding aggressively to minor offenses” (Dictionary, 2024).
To understand why over-representation and over-policing occur, we need to look at the history of policing. Generally, the police force is presented as good, lawful and dedicated to justice. We are taught to view the police as protectors. However, not everyone experiences policing in the same way or equally. Policing in Canada has roots in colonialism and racial discrimination. Originally, the goal of policing was to remove Indigenous peoples from their land and limit them to reserves (Bell & Schreiner, 2018). Policing was a way to control Indigenous peoples, lands, and resources. Policing was also used to follow, watch, and control enslaved African people (Tracking (In)justice, 2023). To justify the use of policing to control innocent people, Black and Indigenous peoples were unfairly shown as dangerous, unpredictable and scary. (Monaghan, 2013; Owusu-Bempah & Gabbidon, 2020). These negative stereotypes were used to justify excessive use of force by the police and over-policing.
When data is presented without context, it is easy to assume that racial bias and racial profiling are not present. People may think that certain groups commit more crimes because we see them more often in crime reports. However, this doesn’t always mean they actually commit more crimes—it could mean they are stopped by police more often than others. The historical conditions of policing continue to shape the police service today. For example, Black, Indigenous and other Racialized people are more likely to be stopped at street checks and traffic stops (Wortley 2019; Robertson, Khoo, and Song, 2020; Tulloch 2018). When we are presented with this context, it allows us to understand overrepresentation as over-policing, instead of seeing vulnerable populations as a problematic group. This history continues today as Black, Indigenous, and other Racialized populations are unfairly connected with crime through stereotypes and negative presentations in the media (Fleras, 2011). This continued discrimination often leads to overrepresentation in police contacts and over-policing (Alberton, Gorey, & Williams, 2023; House of Commons Canada, 2021).
Additionally, other social conditions may impact the result of over-representation in the data. For example, youth, people with mental health issues, substance users, migrants, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, people experiencing homelessness and other disadvantaged groups have been unfairly treated by police (Tracking (In)justice, 2023). When these conditions overlap with their racialized identity, those from Black, Indigenous and Racialized groups may face excessive unfair treatment and over-policing. For example, from March 2019- July 2021 over 10% of police-related calls were related to mental health (Statistics Canada, 2021). In these calls, the negative stereotypes of Black, Indigenous, and Racialized peoples can impact how the police respond to calls for help. This may also lead to increased police presence in these communities. Increased police presence can result in increased police contacts. The overrepresentation in the data can be from a variety of factors. Disaggregated race-based data that looks at the overlap between race, racism, and many other social factors can help identify why Indigenous and Black people experience more contact with the police compared to their percentage of the Calgary population.
What Next:
Intersectional Disaggregated Race-Based Data – It is important to remember that due to systemic violence, Black, Indigenous and Racialized peoples are already overly represented in disadvantaged groups. When these disadvantaged groups are also unfairly treated by the police, they may face increased problems. This highlights the need for an intersectional framework for data collection and distribution. Intersectional disaggregated race-based data allows for painting a clearer picture of how different elements of identity (like gender, location, age, and socio-economic status) overlap with race and impact patterns of police behaviour. Understanding intersectionality can make sure that racial data is collected and presented in a way that is consistent and sensitive.
CPS Connection with the Community – We advise that the CPS should work with advocacy groups, community leaders, and equity experts to create clear rules about what types of data to collect, how to collect it, how to analyze it, and how to share the information. The CPS may also benefit from working directly with Indigenous, Black and diverse Racialized leaders/advocates/activists with knowledge in race studies and local community needs, to support an anti-racism approach grounded in both theory and practice.
Community Guided Advocacy – We encourage community organizations to connect with ActionDignity for support with community guided advocacy plans. If you have an idea or plan to develop more education, advocacy, community connection, or accountability around contacts with the police, please contact ActionDignity to discuss and grow your ideas. ActionDignity also hosts regular Community Conversation Circles to discuss and share knowledge about public safety issues that impact racialized communities. All are invited to attend. Please find details of upcoming Community Conversation Circles on ActionDignity’s website.
(Community Conversation Circle on the response to CPS’s Race Data Analysis Report held by ActionDignity in November 2024)
Continued Education – To support the examination of future race-based data reports through an anti-racism lens and to research the answers to the questions shared by the community, we have started this series of posts as part of our ActionDignity Anti-Racism Blog. We will be posting blog posts that examine community stories of contact with and perception of the police and the roles that poverty, homelessness, and location play in the overrepresentation in police contact.
References:
Alberton, A. M., Gorey, K. M., & Williams, N. G. (2023). Individual and community predictors of arrests in Canada: Evidence of over-policing of Indigenous peoples and communities. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2023.2211785
Bell, C & Schreiner, K. (2018). The international relations of police power in settler colonialism: The “civilizing” mission of Canada’s mounties. International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis 73 (1). 111-128
Calgary Police Service. (2024). 2023 CPS race data analysis. https://www.calgary.ca/cps/public-services/community-accountability/race-data-analysis.html
Dictionary. (n.d.). Overpolice. In Dictionary.com Dictionary. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/overpolice
Fleras, A. (2011). The Media Gaze: Representations of Diversities in Canada. University of British Columbia Press. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.59962/9780774821384
Government of Canada. (1985). Criminal Code: C-46. Justice Laws Website. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/fulltext.html#:~:text=offender,finding%20of%20guilt%3B%20(contrevenant)
House of Commons Canada. (2021). Systemic racism in policing in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/ https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/SECU/Reports/RP11434998/securp06/securp06-e.pdf
Merriam-Webster. (2024). Chronic. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronic
Merriam-Webster. (2024). Overrepresented. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overrepresented
Monaghan, J.(2013). Settler governmentality and racializing surveillance in Canada’s north-west. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 38 (4).487-508
Owusu-Bempah, A. & Gabbidon, S. (2020). Race, ethnicity, crime, and justice: an international dilemma. Routledge.
Robertson, K., Khoo, C., & Song, Y. (2020). To surveil and predict: A human rights analysis of algorithmic policing in Canada. The Citizen Lab.
Statistics Canada. (2021). Table 35-10-0169-01 Selected police-reported crime and calls for service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tulloch, M.H. (2018). Report of the independent street checks review: Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.
Tracking (In)Justice. (Feb. 10, 2023). Understanding the data: Historical and contemporary context of policing, colonialism and discrimination. Tracking (In)Justice. https://trackinginjustice.ca/analysis-policing-colonialism-and-discrimination/
Wortley,S.(2019). Halifax, Nova Scotia: Street Checks report. NS Human Rights Commission.
Glossary
(The following terms were developed in reference to the Calgary Anti-Racism Education (CARED) Glossary: https://www.aclrc.com/glossary) and the Canada Race Relations Foundation Glossary of Terms ( https://crrf-fcrr.ca/glossary-of-terms/)
Bias: Views, opinions, preferences, and prejudices that we learn, often without realizing it, from community, family, school, and media. We carry these ideas and they impact our choices even if we are not always aware of them.
Colonialism: When one country takes control of another country by dominating the land, controlling the people, exploiting the resources, and enforcing their own governance, policies, education, cultures, and practices. Colonialism often involves cultural genocide (the killing of people, languages, and cultures) to maintain control. Settler colonialism involves the displacement of the original peoples by settlers who take over the land and control the society.
Intersectional Framework: A way of looking at lived experience data that understands that the multiple parts of our identities overlap and impact the way that we experience the world and discrimination based on hierarchies. For example, people can be treated with discrimination based on the individual identity elements of race, gender, sexual orientation, and age. However, these elements all overlap in some people creating a complex experience of discrimination. For example, a Black man will have a different experience of discrimination than a Black, trans, lesbian young woman.
Hierarchy: The categorizing of people based on elements of their identity and assigning more value to some people than others. Hierarchies are false and try to teach that some people have more value as human beings than others.
Prejudice: To “pre-judge” an individual based on how they look. Prejudices are assumptions one makes of other people before getting to know them. Prejudices can be informed by stereotypes; the way people are repeatedly presented in media, or based on past experiences. Prejudices can be both positive assumptions such as, “All Black people are good dancers” or negative assumptions “Black people are dangerous”. Prejudices are damaging because they make assumptions of who someone is instead of getting to know them as individuals.
Racial Discrimination: Based on a false hierarchy that gives more value to some racial groups than others, racial discrimination is the denial of equal treatment and opportunities to individuals or groups based on race. Racial discrimination creates barriers for racialized people to experience the human needs of safety, dignity, and belonging as well as opportunities needed to live a fulfilling life.
Race: “Race” is a socially constructed grouping based on skin colour, hair colour and texture, and facial features. Socially constructed means that racial groups were determined by people and while our features are biological, the groupings are not. The definition of racial groups (ie. who is White or Black) has changed over time based on the dominant group’s need for power. The definition of racial groups is also different based on location. For example, someone who is seen as Black in Canada may not be seen as Black in Nigeria. Racial groups were developed to maintain power and keep people separated. They have evolved to connect with culture and these racial groups have real-life impacts on our daily lives.
Racialized: Racialization is the complex process through which groups come to be designated as being of a particular “race” and on that basis, they are subjected to differential and/or unequal treatment.( CARED Glossary). The term “Racialized” is used to identify people who are not White because it draws attention to the fact that racial groupings were created and assigned to non-white people for the dominant group to maintain power.
Systemic racism: Patterns of behaviour, policies or practices that are part of the social or administrative structures of an organization or institution, and which create or perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Prejudicial beliefs accompanied by power are used to discriminate and create barriers to participation in society and life.
Unfair treatment: the differential treatment of one group in comparison with another because of certain characteristics (i.e. paying lower wages to women in comparison to men for work of equal value). SEE: Racial Discrimination
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