Halifax police board votes to strike committee to define defunding
“Halifax board of police commissioners finally passed a motion to create a committee that will define the concept of defunding the police. As Zane Woodford reports, after weeks of confusion, the board passed this motion on Monday. It’s more specific than a motion presented by a municipal staff in July:
That the Halifax board of police commissioners appoint a community advisory committee to assist in adopting a definition of defunding the police, and that the committee present this definition at a future meeting of the board for further discussion and debate. Further, the definition of defunding the police should be based on the following:
Police performing core policing functions
Allocating appropriate resources to perform non-police functions
And investing in resources that have been proven to support community risks and promote crime prevention
Councillors Tony Mancini and Lindell Smith voted no. Smith said the board already had a good working definition, presented by Public Safety Advisor Amy Siciliano and Youth Advocate Program manager DeRico Symonds in July. At the next meeting on Sept. 21, the board will discuss what the committee will look like.
Before the board’s last meeting, the Nova Scotia Policing Policy Working Group said in a news release that board chair Natalie Borden asked El Jones, a member of its steering committee and a columnist for the Halifax Examiner, to chair the committee.
Monday’s meeting also included a presentation called Applying a Gender Lens to Arrest: A Call for Change by Martha Paynter, Women’s Wellness Within. Paynter talked about issues like the risks of arresting women when their children are present or detaining breastfeeding women.”