The insanity of Carding

Prior to posting more, I should introduce myself.  Shawn here... (Seth's dad), and great to be on the boards sharing and learning.

Now, onto a little something I will be following with interest over the next little while.  

Papers please!

We all know that infamous line from the Nazi regime, banana republics and the US with their "Stop and Frisk" policies.  Essentially, these arbitrary detentions/searches are racist, fascist and despotic in nature.  A label with anything else would be watered down and inaccurate.  

We have a controversial policy which has been ongoing for years now.  The stats are scary...and this is only up until 2013.



This blog is a good primer. ---->  Blog - Neo Carding

We have seen MSM isolate on certain aspects while completely omitting the fact that this is a failed policy with costs not yet ascertained...ie. Monetary & social.  The MSM focus on the "horrors" of carding, but fail to mention that the powers that be want to maintain the practice by "abolishing" the current version of it by replacing with a less discriminatory mechanism with no bias or racial profiling involved.

Disturbing is not the word I'm looking for, but its a start.

You do get some of the information from MSM, as this photo-op / press conference indicates. -----> Charter Challenge

Toronto Star wrote:Singh said he has been carded 10 times and has been stopped by police at least 30 times.

After filing a freedom of information request to view his records, he said the false information he found made him fear for his safety.

“Inaccurate information stated that I was not police friendly, that I was born in Jamaica when I was born in Toronto, that I have a possible immigration warrant, made me realize that my safety was at jeopardy if this was not addressed,” Singh said outside City Hall today.

Singh and his lawyer Vilko Zbogar filed a challenge to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on their assertion that carding and the police’s retention of personal information that has been gathered is illegal. Zbogar said it may take a year for the courts to make a decision.

I would like to see the courts strike this down, but again, there have been surprises and disappointments regarding these types of invasive procedures in the name of "security".  

Here's the elitist take from the G&M on the Province now getting involved in "regulating"  the practice/policy. ----> Globe & Mail

There is a little bit of sanity out there from elitists who no longer have (much) of anything to lose taking a stance on carding.  Here from Toronto Star ----> Star

Toronto Star wrote:Toronto police documented over a million individuals in carding encounters between 2008 and 2013. Very few of these encounters were accompanied by an arrest or criminal charge.

The Law union is a kind of grassroots organization that has come out against it and would be a great source in delving into the matter.

LAWUNION.CA

Comments from any and all are welcome on this topic.

Hobbs, what do you think about putting this into your C&P content or sharing the info in order to disseminate or instigate discussion?

Welcome aboard Shawn!

I had only heard of carding a few weeks and until then I had no idea it was being done...and now after reading this post I had no idea to what extent it was being done!

When did this start?

Thanks Reb!  Great to be onboard.

I have yet to really dig into this, but I believe it started in 2008 with the practice undergoing changes throughout that time.  

The Toronto Police Services Board reinstated the practice with their vote in mid June/2015.  The insanity continues.

Good to have you aboard, Shawn!

We were discussing this last time you were up - so my thanks for posting this excellent primer.

For me the two big signs to watch for in becoming a police-state are a) road block checkpoints and b) 'Papers, please!' When those become common you are in a police-state.

Police are not crime-fighters as much as information vacuums. Every encounter with an officer likely results in notes on you being put in a database like CPIC. Many police 'notes' are basically gossip and innuendo (often incorrect as your summary showed) on stuff like appearance, who your parents are, whose sleeping with whom, how kids behave at school, who goes to church. Petty stuff disguised as vital police information.

This quickly lead to self-fulfilling police encounters as police start treating you according to gossip/notes instead of as a citizen. One of the struggles in policing is who can access what level of notes. The case of the woman stopped at the US border because she had called 9-11 if a fit of suicidal depression was an eye-opener. No police involved just an ambulance - but US border guards had access to those records. [It was actually our local MPP France Gelinas as NDP health critic who brought this case up.]

Right now this is a racial/gender/age issue targeting young males. It might expand but will hit resistance from middle-class white adults. Still, the hysteria-machine that is the 'Wars of Terror' can make crazy things happen.

I rarely carry a wallet and as far as I know you do not have to show ID unless:
1) you are driving a car
2) you are reasonably suspected of committing a crime

When dealing with police you best defense is to act like a "normal person" until they move on - but for this one I would make an exception. I would not give my ID (if I had one) unless given a full explanation that I could repeat back to them and they would agree with. If people act like slaves on this issue it will only encourage the police to expand.

Hobbs wrote:I rarely carry a wallet and as far as I know you do not have to show ID unless:
1) you are driving a car
2) you are reasonably suspected of committing a crime

The 2 points made are, to my knowledge as well, accurate.

This is one of the reasons why Jagmeet Singh was accosted outside of Casa Loma.  As a student at law in Osgoode, he exercised his right to not show ID.  The officer became aggressive, followed him to his car, then pulled him over & demanded ID (obligatory under the HTA).  Story here ----> CBC link

He's pushing for a complete ban, while others seemingly have their heads to far up their ass, or someone else's.

Wants provincial ban

The disconcerting thing (one of many on this topic), is the fact that it is a policy which preys upon the freedoms and rights of the individual(s).  

This is the sad continuation to the slippery slope where the populace is being conditioned to willingly allow those rights to be stripped away in the name of "security" or "safety".  This, despite the fact that history and studies show this type of policy is ineffective and detrimental to the image and acceptance of LEO within communities.

I once thought of starting crime'n'punishment classes by announcing 'I ANAL!' so no-one would misconstrue my opinions as legal advice - but decided against it...

'Carding' is most likely an American import (or just the obvious extension of a core police power) - but I wonder, given the timeline, if you could trace this program back to Afghanistan where Canadian soldier treated everyone in Kandahar like a potential suspect with not just carding but also bio-metrics?  The policing practices used in occupied colonies have a way or returning home.

(or maybe we should just ask First Nations people how long carding has happened in the imperial colony of Canada?)

I suspect this 'security theater' will push us toward a two-tier citizenry: those with the cash and corporate connections to have all the proper IDs (they will freely move between cities, provinces and countries) and the rest of us (who will always be unsure when we come to a check-point or police stop - and thus vulnerable to shake-downs).

Hobb wrote:I once thought of starting crime'n'punishment classes by announcing 'I ANAL!' so no-one would misconstrue my opinions as legal advice - but decided against it...

If you change your mind, it must be taped / recorded for posterity.

PACER wrote:Analysis indicated from 2009 to 2011, there were 1,104,561 persons entered into the FIR database.

This is from the Toronto Police's own 2013 report. Yet it must be a misprint or they are using 'person' in an unusual way, otherwise this would represent 42% of Toronto's population!

Toronto Star wrote:Between 2008 and late 2013, police filled out 2.1 million contact cards involving more than a million individuals. Personal details are recorded and entered in a database that can be searched from police cruiser computers.

The Toronto Star reads that sentence the same way - 1.1 million people 'carded' in a city of 2.6 million. At peak it was 40,000 people a month. I had trouble believing this figure when I first read it in Shawn's original post but it's true.

TORSTAR wrote:The practice dates back to the 1950s but was ramped up during Bill Blair’s 10 years as chief.

The practice plummeted in mid-2013, when the board ordered police to issue receipts. Under the new policy and procedures, no detailed receipts will be issued, only a business card.

The Saunders-led report also recommended police develop a smartphone app “that may assist in police and community relations by de-mystifying the carding practice and providing greater police accountability to the public.” It was also intended to counter apps that had been developed to monitor police activity that are “being designed contrary to positive police and community intentions.”