NCJ Number
147163
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1993) Pages: 138-146
Date Published
1993
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper explores the perceptions of several Canadian police officers.
Abstract
The author interviewed 48 police officers from Montreal, Oakville, Ottawa, and Toronto about a number of aspects of police and minority relations. In this paper, he reports his findings only on the issue of how the police perceive the problems faced by Canada's ethnic minorities. For this discussion, the responses were categorized into three groups: 1) no difficulties or problems due to minorities own fault, 2) problems generated mainly by the majority community, and 3) intermediate problems, eg., language problems. Some of the varied responses were disturbing but for the most part, the officers were aware that ethnic minorities in the country's cities faced unique problems. Canada has adopted a policy toward ethnic minorities that is different than the melting pot ideology of the United States. The public policy in Canada instead is to strengthen the mosaic of multiple cultures. The police can assist in carrying out this policy only if they have understand of the various cultures. Appendix