Hamilton police say Pride recommendations almost achieved

Hamilton Police Services said it has completed over 90 per cent of the recommendations that flowed from a report into the police response to violence at the city's Pride celebrations in 2019.

Deputy chief Ryan Diodati, during the Hamilton police board meeting on Friday, said that 35 out of 38 recommendations have been achieved. They were laid out by lawyer Scott Bergman, who led the probe and found the police response inadequate" to the anti-LGBTQ-fuelled violence at Gage Park during the 2019 Pride celebrations.

The three recommendations yet to be fulfilled are:

• Consultation with the community to determine if and when it may be appropriate to recreate a community task force/advisory committee.

• Consider holding larger town hall meetings to review (the police) action plan.

• Retain a third-party facilitator or mediator from a list provided by community members to facilitate future community meetings moving forward.

Diodati, in his final update on Bergman's report, told the board that the recommendations that are not complete ... are actively being worked on."

He said the three recommendations are still active because of COVID."

That hampered our ability to get together as a group."

Among the tasks achieved, Diodati said, the police have committed to ongoing training," developed in collaboration with their equity, diversity and inclusivity specialist.

This year, as Pride returned post-pandemic, Diodati said the police relations co-ordinator met with the organizers long before the actual event. On each day of the Pride celebrations, upon arrival, supervising officers made contact with the Pride Hamilton organizers and maintain constant contact with event and venue organizers throughout the celebration."

Diodati said Hamilton police will launch a focus recruitment event for the LGBTQ community following a 2021 McMaster University survey. Tentatively scheduled for November of this year, it will allow attendees the opportunity to speak to recruiters (and) test ... equipment of the specialty units available with a policing career."

For 2022-23 planning, the training of officers will include a practical scenario involving role-play techniques and training in critical thinking, said Diodati.

Specifically, a trans community member assisted in creating a training module that will be delivered to all members," Diodati said. The training module will highlight the appropriate way to deal with a trans person with respect to the identification.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com