The uncovering of the bodies of 215 children at the Kamloops school, uncovers the reality that the history of policing in Canada has been a history where Indigenous peoples have experienced the police as a force that has taken their children and has failed to protect Indigenous people. Even when children have died, there was no investigation or prosecution of those how committed these crimes.
We are calling on the Calgary Police to stop delaying and hire nine Indigenous liaison officers, one for each district, and provide adequate support to ensure that the culture of policing changes to one that protects indigenous peoples and communities.
Over-policing and under-protection are considered key issues underlying missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Vital to addressing this, is assisting the police to develop better cultural competencies, understanding of the impacts of colonization and better relationships with indigenous communities. The factor that can shift this is to ensure that each district office has an indigenous liaison officer. Currently, there is only one Indigenous Liaison officer in a city of 1.2M which is inadequate.
We are asking you to write:
- Calgary Police Commission - [email protected]
- Superintendent Asif Rashid - [email protected]
- Deputy Chief Katie McLellan - [email protected]
- Chief Constable Mark Neufeld – [email protected]
- City Councillors - [email protected]
- Mayor Nenshi – [email protected]
Sample Text:
The uncovering of the bodies of 215 children at the Kamloops Residential School, reminds us that the history of policing in Canada has been a history where Indigenous peoples have experienced the police as a violent force that has frequently taken their children away while simultaneously failing to protect Indigenous people. Even when children died in care, there was not an investigation or prosecution to discover their causes of death.
We are calling on the Calgary Police to stop delaying and to hire nine Indigenous Liaison Officers, one for each district, and also to provide adequate support to ensure that the culture of policing changes is one that protects Indigenous peoples and their communities.
Signed,
Your Name
