Montrealers can now record their police stop encounters on an interactive map
Montrealers can self-report their police stop encounters through an interactive map on STOPMTL.ca, as part of a research project’s efforts to gain more data on police stops in the city, it was announced Wednesday.
Users are not only able to report police stop encounters immediately after they’ve happened, but past encounters as well, going back decades. Users as young as 15 can fill out an anonymous form indicating the context of the stop and where it took place, as well as their age, gender and ethnicity, among other details.
“We want to get a better picture of the police-citizen relationship, because it is an important social issue,” said Carolyn Côté-Lussier in a press release, the project’s lead researcher and a professor of urban studies at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS).
The project is a response to reports of racial and social profiling by the SPVM; in 2019, an independent report found that Indigenous and Black people are four to five times more likely to be stopped by police than white people in Montreal, and that Arab people are twice as likely.
Further, just Wednesday it was announced that Mamadi Camara, a Montrealer who was wrongfully arrested and detained for six days in January, is suing the police for $1.2 million on accusations of racial profiling.
Only five to 20 per cent of police stops are recorded by the SPVM, according to the INRS, so the website is intended to gain a more accurate understanding of police-citizen interactions.
When community organizations make claims regarding police stops, they are not always taken seriously because of a lack of data, said Côté-Lussier.
"This is a need that has been expressed repeatedly by community organizations since the 1980s," she said.
Fo Niemi, executive director of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), told CTV that the project will make a significant contribution to evidence-based advocacy in the city.
“It will provide us with quantitative data of how many people are stopped, who is stopped, and more importantly where they’re stopped. Because the ‘where’ will help us understand where there’s disproportionate targeting of people, particularly people of colour.”
The CRARR is a Montreal civil rights organization and one of several community groups supporting the project.
While promoting the website, Côté-Lussier told CTV the team is targeting "boroughs where most stops occur and occur in a disproportionate manner compared to the crime rate, based on the latest SPVM data."
These areas include the Sud-Ouest (Saint-Paul, Petite Bourgogne, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Saint-Henri, Ville Émard), Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Outremont, Ahuntsic, St-Michel, Montreal North, Saint-Laurent, Ville-Marie, Île Notre-Dame, Île-Saint-Hélène, the Plateau-Mont-Royal, and the Old Port.
A team of researchers from the INRS, McGill University, Concordia University and University College London collaborated in creating the project and launching the website. The team says the project will be open access, meaning its data will be accessible to the general public.
According to the press release, this data will contribute to ongoing studies on the impact of police interaction and crime on mental health and quality of life.
POLICE 'NOT AWARE OF THE SCIENCTIFIC BASIS'
In an email, Montreal police spokesperson Anik de Repentigny said the force is “not aware of the scientific basis for the development of this interactive map. Therefore, we are not in a position to comment on it.”
De Repentigny added that the police service uses computerized forms developed alongside university researchers Victor Armony, Mariam Hassaoui and Massimiliano Mulone and according to the recommendations in an August 2019 report into racial profiling and street checks.
She added that the Montreal police official policy on police checks is “evolving” and has been “officially in effect since March 1.”
De Repentigny also said that the allegation that only 5 to 20 per cent of police stops are recorded by the SPVM is based on stops that occurred between 2001 and 2007, adding that researchers say "it is extremely difficult to project these estimates” onto contemporary police practices.
“We accept all the conclusions of the Armony-Hassaoui-Mulone report. This is why we have mandated them to continue their research in order to document the stops in a scientific manner,” she said.
- With files from CTV News Montreal's Matt Gilmour
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.