Race and Identity-Based Data Community Consultation: Waterloo

On January 24th, Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) hosted its first Race- and Identity-Based Data (RIBD) mini-conference with the aim of providing community with the legislative background to the collection of race- and identity-based data, collection priniciples, reporting regimes and work done to date that underscores the need for greater awareness and continued transparency and collaboration through collective impact approaches with diverse communities in shaping the policies and initiatives that affect them. During that conference, we promised that we would continue to engage with all members of our community, with respect to the findings of RIBD, so that we could work together to identify community-centered solutions to concerning trends. This event is the first in a series of community consultations that we will be hosting around the Region.

During this community consultation, we will be presenting results from our 2023 Annual Reports on RIBD, with respect to Use of Force, Intelligence Gathering, and Search of Persons in Custody. Further, this event will offer greater opportunity for community consultation. A significant portion of the event will be open for community members to ask questions to members of the race- and identity-based data collection team, as well as Senior Leaders from our Service.

This work is underscored by the WRPS 2024-2027 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan, that reaffirms 5 specific calls to action that support the ongoing committment to community collaboration.

Learn more about the RIBD strategy, including watching past presentations, on WRPS' RIBD webpage (https://www.wrps.on.ca/en/our-community/race-and-identity-based-data-collection-action-plan.aspx) and register for upcoming community consultations where we continue to seek public input and establish consistent processes for collecting and sharing race and identity based data in communites, particularily those identified in the perceived race categories.

Your input is critical to our work and part of our ongoing and collective efforts to promote fairness, transparency and accountability in policing, helping WRPS make informed decisions in prioritizing public safety.