Reference no: EM133650341
Assignment:
Improving Poor Relations with Marginalized and Vulnerable Communities pages 192-193
To be clear, we are past the time for conversation only. The public is entitled to insist on transformative change with measurable, sustainable outcomes, timelines for completion, and accountability.-The Honorable Gloria J Epstein, Missing and Missed: Report of the Independent Civilian Review into Missing Person Investigations1After consultations with a diverse group of concerned community members, Toronto's Police Services Board commissioned an independent, civilian review of how its police service conducts missing person investigations, particularly in relation to LGBTQ2S+ and other vulnerable or marginalized groups.
Between 2010 and 2017, eight members of Toronto's gay and bisexual communities were murdered by Bruce McArthur, who was not apprehended and prosecuted until 2018. Demand for the review stemmed from deep concerns about how the police service investigated these and other disappearances and deaths. Led by the Honorable Gloria J Epstein, the review was designed to make recommendations to promote efficient, effective, and bias-free investigations, as well as better police relationships with members of vulnerable and marginalized groups. The review team engaged in inquiry and research into these issues for almost three years.
On April 13, 2021, Justice Epstein released a report of the review's findings and recommendations, entitled, Missing and Missed: Report of the Independent Civilian Review into Missing Person Investigations. Key among the principles she applied in conducting this work is the notion that unacceptable police behavior's cannot be understood, much less reformed, without full consideration of the conditions that make people vulnerable and marginalized in the first place. Justice Epstein pointed out that all of the ten missing people on whom this review focused became vulnerable to violence and exploitation for a variety of reasons including ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, poverty, immigration status, addiction, and homelessness.
However, while police agencies and individual officers have direct responsibility for some of these outcomes, every other group, organization, and individual in society shares that responsibility with them. As we have pointed out repeatedly in this text, all of these ills to which society expects police to respond constructively, cannot be effectively resolved by police alone! Community has to take more responsibility for identifying, acknowledging, and transforming them. That's community policing.
Consider the following questions:
1. How does the LGBTQ2S+ community fit into this discussion? What makes LGBTQ2S+people a community that is important to discuss in a text on community policing?
2. What other special groups and communities do you think would benefit from a more collaborative approach to community engagement and community policing?
3. What techniques can police use to increase their legitimacy in the eyes of members from vulnerable and marginalized groups?