I highly encourage tuning in to this powerful list of delegates holding our police board accountable to community concern. https://twitter.com/james_m_wilt/status/1336812482929643523

@owentoews emphasized that over 100,000 people signed a petition calling for defunding the police and reinvesting in life-sustaining services, more than the number of people who voted in Mayor Brian Bowman. Yet, the Police Board is advancing on a budgetary police increase.

@bronwyn_dl voiced concern that the board does not find the deaths of Andrew Stewart, Jason Collins, Eishia Hudson by police as part of their budget decisions.

@DanielFriesen echos calls to freeze new cadet and police hires and hold back 10% of the budget to reinvest in community services.

All speakers thus far have emphasized that police budget increases have not increased community safety, evidence indicates police increases directly reduce other community service spending, and criminalizes those most vulnerable to victimization, such as Indigenous women.

Chair Marcus Chambers states there are 'other criminologists who provide different perspectives' to police (insinuating there is debate within criminology that police budget increases increase public safety). This criminologist flags concern with this response 1/2

namely, because it is, as @bronwyn_dl stated, an Associate Prof of Criminal Justice, a mainstream section of criminology that understands evidence-based research to show police budget increases do not increase public safety. 2/2

its deeply troubling to see ideological supports for the police (that certainly exist within criminology, but primarily in schools outside of Manitoba, primarily a US-based) being prioritized over now introductory and seminal knowledge within criminology that police...

are overburdened already and do not keep communities safe. Police board's task is to provide oversight and listen to experts and community members' grievances. We have seen board members cite mystical 'other experts' to detract from experts who sit in front of them.

I will link other more complete breakdowns of delegate presentations to this thread. I couldn't get it all.

Despite calls just heard to freeze new hires, the board is discussing the idea of making a 'police college' for new recruits.