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I am worried about the governance issue & potential conflict of interest of the police being able to vet the people that are to oversee them. I supported Councillor Santos - in a unanimous vote of Council - for her position on the Police Board.
I understand that Councillor Santos has no criminal record nor has been arrested for any crime. The Police Board is an oversight body to which the Winnipeg Police are supposed to be held accountable, not the other way around.
The opaque decision making process here casts doubt on that relationship. The lack of information justifying this decision leads one to further speculation.
I remember Councillor Santos speaking out about the ever increasing cost of policing to taxpayers, taking up 31% of our property tax bill (vs only 19% for recreation & community services).
I also heard her call for increased scrutiny of the WPS budget by the Police Board itself.
Amidst the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, I had been encouraged to see that Council had appointed two people of colour to the board,
and further heartened that one of them (Councillor Santos) represents a Ward where issues related to policing, race & poverty are top of mind. I believe this is a major setback.
I am not certain what steps to take at this time, beyond supporting the Councillors decisions on this matter and registering publicly my opinion that I am very uncomfortable with this situation.
