Black community leaders in Windsor-Essex held a virtual talk with Windsor police and city officials to discuss concerns about systemic racism and diversity.
Systemic or institutional racism is embedded as a practice within society or an organisation; it's designed to exclude a group or groups of people.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Windsor Police Service Chief Pam Mizuno joined community members like Essex County Black Historical Research Society President Irene Moore Davis for the Zoom meeting Friday.
Policing was top of mind in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police that has reignited the Black Lives Matter movement.
Moore Davis says starting a dialogue on what's wrong with the system is a big step towards changing it.
"These ideas that people of African descent are inherently inferior or are less intelligent or more dangerous and more likely to commit crime results in us being overly policed and treated differently," she says. "I know some people don't mean to treat us differently in a conscious kind of way but those are the kind of things we have to work against."
According to Moore Davis, of 600 officers only two Black service members rank above constable in Windsor.
She says Windsor has a diverse population and every ethnic group needs to be represented in policing.
"When you have officers that actually look like the community and come from the communities that make up Windsor, the opportunities for better relationships and understanding will definitely be increased," she says. "Right now there are a lot of misunderstandings."
Diversity and Recruitment Officer Neil McEachrane is a constable and, like many of his fellow Black officers, has never applied for a higher rank.
"We have seen before that we're having a hard time getting people of colour coming into Windsor police and we're trying to fix that and it's getting better, but now we have to try and see why the black officers that are here aren't trying to move up in the system," he says. "That's something we have to work on from within."
Chief Mizuno agrees there is a lack of diversity throughout Windsor police ranks.
"We do need to look at that, well why? What is it? Is there something in our system that's preventing people from applying for that promotion or are they feeling that even if they did apply they're not going to be successful," says Mizuno. "Absolutely right on with that comment and it's something that we do need to work on."
Mizuno says Windsor police are listening and want to do what's best for the community.
"To help make our city the best, the safest and a place where we work together with everybody," she says. "We're committed to continuing discussions moving forward to see how we can make changes with our police service."
Mayor Dilkens says the city has a diversity-hiring plan in place, but a high employee retention rate, has slowed the process.
He says that's about to change.
“About half of our staff, 2,500 employees, are eligible to retire over the next five years," he says. "Which means there is wide spread change about to happen."
Moore Davis says Friday's discussion was very productive, but more still needs to be done.
She hopes future conversations will include the voices of groups and organizations that have been "advocating for a long time for reforms, who seem to be largely absent."