Racial Profiling In Canada

Respondents were asked the following question: racial profiling is said to exist when people are stopped, questioned or searched by the police because of their racial characteristics, not because of their individual behaviour or their actions. In your opinion, is racial profiling a problem in Canada or not? The results suggest that black Canadians are much more likely to perceive racial profiling as a major social problem than their Chinese and White counterparts. Indeed, 6 out of 10 black respondents (57%) view racial profiling in Canada as a

‘

big problem

’

, compared to only 21% of white and 14% of Chinese respondents.

2

Respondents were then asked: suppose that, in a particular neighbourhood,

Are these observed racial differences in opinion related to actual racial differences in contact with the police? This question is addressed the next section.

Direct contact with the police

Respondents were asked how many times they had been stopped and questioned by the police

while driving in a car or walking or standing in a public space

in the past two years. The results suggest that a third of the black respondents (34%) have been stopped by the police in the past two years, compared to 28% of whites and 22% of Chinese respondents. Blacks are especially likely to experience multiple police stops. Indeed, 14% of black respondents indicate that they have been stopped by the police on three or more occasions in the past two years, compared to only 5% of white and 3% of Chinese respondents. On average, blacks experienced 1.6 stops in the past two years, compared to 0.5 stops for whites and 0.3 stops for Chinese respondents. Further analysis reveals that black males are particularly vulnerable to police stops (Table 1). One in four black male respondents (23%) indicated that they