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Toronto police to release race based data on use of force, strip searches

June 15, 2022, Toronto, Ont. – Toronto police are set to release race-based statistics today on officers’ use of force and strip searches.

Interim Police Chief James Ramer is scheduled to discuss the findings at a news conference this morning.

The statistics relate to incidents that took place in 2020, the first year the provincial government began collecting race-based data related to use of force from police services.

That move stemmed from legislation passed in 2017 that required several Ontario public sectors to start collecting data on race.

In the fall of 2019, the Toronto Police Services Board approved a policy on race-based data that would start with use of force and later extend to other police processes such as stops, searches, questioning and the laying of charges.

At the time, the board said the data would not be used to identify specific officers or manage their performance, but to “identify trends that contribute to professional development and organizational change.”