All-white Windsor police board shows disconnect from diverse communities, advocate says
CBC
Windsor city council's decision to appoint another white member to an already all-white police services board shows "how disconnected they are from the minorities" in the region.
That's according to Amna Masoodi, who says she feels strongly that police need to reflect the community they serve, including members of the oversight board.
The police board oversees the service and select chiefs, as well as deputy chiefs. The University of Windsor engineering student applied, but wasn't given a spot on the board.
Instead, council made an in-camera decision on Jan. 16 to appoint Sophia Chisholm. She previously held the position from 2016 to 2018 and isn't a member of a diverse community.
Masoodi isn't surprised she didn't get appointed as she lacks professional experience. However, she said it's important to have someone BIPOC on the board to help address the "terrifying bias" that exists within policing.
"A giant a group of white people is just not capable of taking care of all the minorities in the city without help and guidance from the actual minorities who live in the city," said Masoodi.
There's also a provincial legislative requirement saying municipal boards should accurately represent a community's diversity.
"Every municipality that maintains a municipal board shall prepare and, by resolution, approve a diversity plan to ensure that the members of the municipal board appointed by the municipality are representative of the diversity of the population in the municipality," says the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, approved in 2019.
Mayor Drew Dilkens remains the chair. Coun. Jo-Ann Gignac has returned after one term away, and the province renewed appointee Robert de Verteuil's three-year term. The province didn't renew Denise Ghanam's term, leaving a vacant seat Ontario will fill.
Instead of simply asking for applicants, Masoodi says the city should make a more targeted effort to seek out qualified, diverse people for the police board. She says that "critical" voice is missing.
CBC News asked Dilkens why council didn't appoint a diverse community member.
In an emailed statement, Dilkens highlighted that there are two women on the board.
"The role of the board is not to direct police operations in any way, shape or form — so to suggest that board members be appointed on the basis of a specific agenda or operational prerogative would set a dangerous precedent for any police service board," said Dilkens.
He said senior police leaders are committed to working with marginalized, vulnerable people as well as diverse communities.