Vancouver votes to halt police street checks, but police board has final say

Councillors in Vancouver have voted unanimously toban officers from conducting street checks _ the process ofarbitrarily demanding and recording identification, outside of any sort of police investigation.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart praised the outcome of the vote in a social media statement late Wednesday, thanking the almost seven dozen speakers who offered their opinions on his motion.

He says street checks disproportionately affect people of colour and the city's Black and Indigenous residents.

Stewart, who chairs the Vancouver Police Board, says only the board has the power to abolish the checks but he said he will pressure it to follow council's lead.

The mayor's twitter message says the board is preparing to consider its own motion to review street checks and make a final decision on a ban.

Police data from 2017 shows Indigenous people make up two per cent of Vancouver's population but are subject to 16 per cent of the checks, while Blacks are targeted five per cent of the time but represent just one per cent of city residents.