HALIFAX—Halifax Regional Police and Halifax District RCMP say they will not apologize to the Nova Scotia Black community over street checks, despite recommendations from their public oversight board.

However, one councillor says an apology could still come with time.

When Halifax’s board of police commissioners reviewed a damning report on the practice on April 15, they returned with a twofold recommendation: immediately suspend street checks and prepare a joint statement from the services acknowledging and apologizing for the disproportionate effects on Nova Scotia’s Black community.

Ahead of Monday’s board of police commissioners meeting, both Halifax Regional Police and the RCMP released letters stating they feel it would “appear disingenuous” to issue an apology at this time.

“To expect a police service to automatically apologize for something like this is something unheard of, really, so to say ‘not at this time’ is an improvement versus not at all,” Councillor Steve Craig, chair of the police board of commissioners, told reporters before Monday’s meeting.

In a letter dated April 18, acting Halifax Regional Police chief Robin McNeil said he does not “minimize the thought” that went into the board’s motion but said “issues related to organizational apologies are very complex and sensitive.”

Halifax Regional Police, said McNeil, “is fully committed” to addressing the “overrepresentation of racialized communities” in street-check data and recognizes that “implicit bias” has had a “significant impact” on some communities for “generations.”

“We understand the lack of trust in our systems, including police, has been impacted by decades of decisions that have had negative impacts on access to services and fair treatment,” said McNeil in the letter.

Insp. Robert Doyle of Halifax RCMP composed a separate letter May 1, acknowledging that the report from Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley has “shone a brighter light” on the need for “trust and accountability in policing.”

Still, Doyle said, he fears an apology in response to the street-check data could “disrupt efforts to create lasting change.”

The board’s recommendation for an apology came after Wortley’s report revealed Black Haligonians were stopped by police nearly six times more than white people.

In an April 17 statement, Justice Minister Mark Furey called for an immediate suspension of street checks, meeting one of the board’s recommendations.

Craig said the decision not to apologize is an issue of timing. Halifax police want to wait until everyone, especially incoming police chief Dan Kinsella, has had the chance “to understand what the current environment is and make an informed decision.”

“I think it’s reasonable to give the individual some time to think about this. It’s an important thing,” said Craig.

Kinsella made his first appearance at the board of police commissioners Monday but stayed only long enough to introduce himself before leaving. He was not available to media for comment.

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At Monday’s meeting, both RCMP and Halifax police reaffirmed their commitment to improving relationships with Nova Scotia’s Black community but defended the decision not to apologize in response to Wortley’s report.

McNeil stressed that police have decided not to issue an apology based on street-check data because the public’s concerns span more than just street checks and focus more on police interactions with citizens.

“There is lots of work for us to do. It’s a bit wider for me than street checks at this stage,” said McNeil at Monday’s meeting.

Speaking to the commission, Councillor Lindell Smith called on police, in the absence of an apology, to acknowledge the effects that street checks have had on the Black community.

“What I hope for in the future is that we not only look at future relationships but also ... past relationships,” said Smith. “If it’s not an apology, at least acknowledging truly that this relationship has been hurtful to a specific population in Nova Scotia.

“I really feel that that is something that would at least let the community know that there is an understanding of what is happening and the emotions that are being shared.”

Commissioners discussed a number of street-check updates and details at Monday’s meeting, including next steps in handling street-check data already held in the police system.

While an official plan for “retention and removal” of street-check records is expected at next month’s commissioner meeting, McNeil said that access to records has been limited in the meantime to allow “supervisory and analytical access” but not necessarily to “every police officer on the side of the road.”

McNeil was hesitant to speak about further internal changes police have made in the wake of Wortley’s report but assured commissioners that senior management and officers in the force are having conversations.

Following Monday’s meeting, the board plans to push a couple of issues forward for provincial input.

Commissioners passed a motion to request that Minister Furey amend the police act to allow a longer period in which people can make a complaint against police. Currently, the act prohibits complaints made more than six months after the reason for the complaint occurred; however, commissioners hope to see the time limit extended to one year, consistent with the rules that govern the RCMP.

In a motion added by Craig, the board will also call on the province’s Human Rights Commission to request an independent review into the legality of street checks.

Julia-Simone Rutgers is a Halifax-based journalist and a freelance contributor for Star Halifax. Follow her on Twitter: @jsrutgers

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