HANDICAPPING POLICE OFFICERS

   The Ministry of Community Safety, supported by human rights rulings, brought down the hammer on the previous rules for street checks because, apparently,  the old system of stopping, identifying and keeping records on individuals engaged in suspicious activity was racially-biased and feeding secret caches of information about me, you, the dog and Uncle Mo
   Here’s an honest opinion from a cop on the inside about today’s street-check policies:
“Before we can even decide to have an interaction, we must have a specific reason, and we must tell them why, and that they can walk away no problem, at any time, during the interaction and don’t have to speak to us. After the interaction, we must provide a receipt to them indicating who we are and how to complain about us if they were not happy with the interaction. Further, even if they didn’t say anything, we have to submit a regulated interaction written report indicating how we interacted according to the legislation. All this while speaking to a potential criminal type or gang member who is throwing verbal abuse at us while filming with their video cameras and then calling to complain the next day.”