Carding is the act where police officers in the United States randomly stop citizens on the streets and roads for identity details and documentation of personal details. This act is traced back to the 1950s when people were being stopped for personal details documentation, especially African Americans.
It earned the name carding because police were given suspect cards to counter-check with citizens who, to some extent, matched the card details (Naqvi et al. 13). The practice had a notion of reducing contraband activities and even drug peddling in the streets. The practice lost its meaning when ethnicity came to practice, and the police, in most cases, stopped African Americans and Latin Americans. Carding in the United States has existed for a long period, targeting African Americans and Latin Americans because of societal prejudice.
According to the new principles on carding in Ontario Province, the police must first inform any citizen who stops for them in the street, and the citizens have the mandate to deny giving their minutiae. The rules were conscripted following massive consultation on how additional protection can be offered to citizens against carding. The rules are automated to take effect from January 1st in spring, and thorough training is expected to be offered to the local police concerning their approach and services to people in the streets. The new rules also oblige the police to keep records and statistics of whomever they card. They have to record the age, gender, residence, and race of all those who liaise to provide their details annually. This regulation will ensure that police officers at any chance cannot collect your details just because of the neighborhood you live in, your physical appearance, or race factor (Banerjee, Stuti, and Singh 15). This canon helps in foiling race-based detail collection and record-keeping based on skin color since this looks very disrespectful and, in certain circumstances, lowers one’s self-esteem.
According to the new Ontario Province regulations, the police should provide a valid reason for carding a citizen, and based on their argument, one may decide to walk away, decline to respond, or provide details on their choice even though it is advisable that a polite approach by the police should be given positive feedback. The reason provided by the police for carding according to the new rules should not be dependent on race or area of abode, especially if he or she is from a high-crime locality. The police officer must also be in a position to provide all their details like name, the number of their badge, and as well instructions vis-à-vis how the office of the Independent Police Review Director can be contacted so that if, at any chance, they feel like contacting the officer, they can do so at their own pleasure. Some critics though say that the rules should be implemented immediately, waiting for the coming year is too long. They also suspect that the police officers would try to meddle using the traffic stops to go around the new rules.
The New Democratic MPP also suggested that the highway traffic police must identify themselves at the stop, and besides this, they must also give additional details concerning the new dogmas. Howard Morton, a lawyer of the Law Union of Ontario, regarded the new rubrics and regulations as a better improvement from the last draft (Banerjee, Stuti, and Singh 15). However, the lawyer said the police can still approach and stop civilians but should never attempt impromptu carding of citizens unless protocols regarding carding are observed. However, these may fail to apply in certain cases. In a case like when a crime has been committed, the regulation will not prevent arbitrarily and even race slants, checks, and stops. Morton said in his mail that the new regulations and rubrics on carding are well-defined with exemptions when these rules fail to apply. Moreover, he said the rules cover more circumstances than before (Naqvi et al. 15). It fails to apply in cases where an undercover investigation or warrant is being served.
Despite all these changes, there have been arguments about whether the new regulations rule out all the prior critics and objections to carding. Based on the new regulations, anti-racist activists have held a press conference in Ontario Hall with a notion of demanding respect from the police following the new regulations with an immediate effect, though they argue that the new policies do not address the issues in detail. A critical review of the new regulations reveals some evident loopholes creating chances for police to proceed with their prejudiced carding bustle. The anti-racist coalition says that the adoption of the new regulations has minimal influence on the status quo, leaving an erroneous impression of the crisis being solved (Roach and Kent 29). The policies would fail to address arbitrary and race-based issues in the new regulations when a special investigation concerning a given crime is being conducted. Taking this rule apart, if these regulations do not come into play when investigating a special investigation, the police would, therefore, resort to using this loophole to continue with race profiling and stockings. This indulgence, also known as a narrow escape, provides an arena for the police force to continue with their usual activity. In another case, if the regulation covers the collection of details for crime intelligence purposes engaging people who are suspects in some illegal activity, then it means information of people not known though carded will not be recorded. The police will have the chance to card people with an excuse of crime intelligence.
Again, if the new regulations do not apply to instances when police are lawfully compelled to ask for IDs from drivers, then the new regulations will not govern the stops of people by police on the roads. Singh, a resident of Ontario, says that out of the 11 times he has been carded, only one instance would be prohibited by the new regulations. He goes ahead to say that because of him being African American in the city, he is a regular target as he drives. He says on many occasions, he is stopped for no traffic offense but just for a general investigation.
On the arbitrary regulations, police should not card someone based on their racial group. An exception is whereby there is a criminal on the look, and he or she comes from that racial group. It, therefore, means the police are allowed to card members of that particular racial group to find the criminal (Roach and Kent 32). The police would, therefore, easily dodge the arbitrary regulation by saying that a known suspect is on the look and he or she comes from that particular racial group. Lastly, a critical view of the new regulations shows that they contain several loopholes, which gives an opportunity for the police force to continue with their arbitrary and racial-based carding in the United States.
In summary, carding is a major crisis facing different races in the United States. The police have been on the move for quite a long period, harassing the racial groupings within the United States. It is high time the government put up rules which can help reduce these activities. An acute analysis of the new regulations shows several loopholes, and the ones mentioned above are just a few of them. However, the rules can be amended to cater to the loopholes. It is of great importance for the government to consider amending the rules to ensure we have a free nation for everyone.
Work Cited
Banerjee, Stuti. “Jagmeet Singh: New Leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party.” (2017). Pp 15-25.
Naqvi, Dear Minister. “RE: Abolish Police” Street Checks” to Safeguard Human Rights and Improve Health.” (2015). Pp 12-17.
Roach, Kent. “Models of Civilian Police Review: The Objectives and Mechanisms of Legal and Political Regulation of the Police.” Crim. LQ 61 (2014): 29-32.
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