Criminology

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Graduate Students

Scholars at Risk

Turkey

Serdar San was well into his PhD in criminology at the University of Toronto in late 2016 when his research and personal life were turned upside down.

A Turkish National Police lieutenant who originally came to Canada on a Turkish police scholarship, San was suddenly fired from the force as an increasingly authoritarian government in Turkey looked to crack down on its institutions of policing in the wake of a failed military coup.

Not only did the move wipe out San’s career and a decade’s worth of pension contributions, it meant he could no longer travel to Turkey to conduct interviews for his dissertation – a comparative study of counter-terrorism policies in Turkey and Canada with respect to home-grown terrorism – as he risked harassment and the seizure of his passport.

So, with the help of U of T’s Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship, San pivoted his research to a different topic, the importance of which he understands all too well: How political upheaval and regime changes have impacted Turkish policing in recent decades.

“This fellowship will be a great financial support for me in finishing my dissertation, which I strongly believe will both contribute to scholarly understanding of policing but will also help draw scholarly and public attention to the human rights abuses of the current regime in Turkey,” says San.

Awarded by the School of Graduate Studies in a partnership with Massey College, the fellowships award $10,000 to outstanding graduate students who are seeking asylum or refugee status in Canada, or whose study has been impacted by political upheaval in their country of study. It also grants recipients the status of Scholar-at-Risk at Massey College, and appoints them members of Massey College without having to pay a membership fee.

“Joining the Massey College community will help me meet new colleagues in different disciplines and with varying interests and life experiences, which will help me broaden my horizons as well,” San says.

San first came to Canada in August 2013 to pursue a master’s degree in criminology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, with the intention of returning to his policing duties in Turkey after graduation.

However, he later decided to stay in Canada to complete a PhD at U of T under the supervision of Matthew Light, an associate professor of criminology and sociolegal studies and European, Russian and Eurasian studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

San’s decision to extend his stay in Canada was also influenced by turmoil in his home country.

“Things were changing in Turkey during that time after widespread mass protests against the government and increasing authoritarian policies,” he says. “Critics began to be arrested and imprisoned, and they started a crackdown on the police force shortly thereafter, which intensified after the military coup attempt in July 2016.”

He says the government was keen to rid its police forces of democratic-thinking and progressive-minded police officers and replace them with regime loyalists.

“I personally see myself as one of the members of a cohort of younger officers dedicated to raising the professional level of Turkish policing by improving police-community relations and by addressing Turkey’s serious problem of terrorism in a more democratic and rights-respecting manner,” he says. “But after the government’s authoritarianism solidified, these open-minded and more democratic-thinking officers were labelled as traitors ... mostly because they’re critical thinkers.”

As many as 100,000 public servants, including police officers, were fired in the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup, according to the New York Times. San says that, to his knowledge, more than 33,000 police officers have been dismissed from their positions.

“After the purge of thousands of police officers, they immediately recruited new ones who they saw as more loyal in the increasing repression against dissidents, and who would be more helpful in the crackdown.”

It’s only the most recent example of political transitions influencing Turkish policing, according to San. His doctoral research will examine how the relationship between political regimes and police has played out in Turkey over the last 40 years, starting from the period immediately after the 1980 military coup.

“I will explore whether and how different political regime types and political transitions infuse the development of policing, and also how new authoritarian regimes construct or reconstruct their internal security or policing institutions,” says San. “I’m doing this study because I think Turkey is an important case because it has experienced repeated and very dramatic political transitions and changes in policing over the last 40 years.”

Changing his research focus has not been without its challenges. “As a result of my new project, I have had to re-tool as a scholar and familiarize myself with an entirely new scholarly literature, which extends the amount of time I’ll need to complete my doctoral studies,” San says.

“Professor Light has been really helpful and a very good guide and supervisor for me in this project.”

Despite his personal, professional and academic ordeals, San is now squarely focused on continuing his transition from police officer to U of T scholar.

“All the things I’ve lived in the last four or five years have helped me learn how to become a more thoughtful and informed citizen, especially in terms of knowing your rights and liberties and knowing how democracy works,” he says.

“I hope that all this experience – and further experiences that I’ll have with the help of the Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship – will make me a more informed citizen, both in Canada and maybe in a more democratic Turkey in the future.”

'This is a Canadian problem, too': U of T's Maydianne Andrade on finding the will to address anti-Black racism

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 17:38:08 +0000

'This is a Canadian problem, too': U of T's Maydianne Andrade on finding the will to address anti-Black racism

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 09/11/2020 - 13:38

Cutline

Professor Maydianne Andrade is the vice-dean faculty affairs, equity and success, at U of T Scarborough and the host of The New Normal podcast (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Global

U of T Scarborough

United States

A string of violent police acts against unarmed Black men and women, with the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake among the most recent high-profile incidents, has prompted a racial reckoning in the United States and around the world.

Coming just three months after the killing of George Floyd, the Blake incident led to a fresh wave of protests and boycotts. It also prompted renewed conversations around anti-Black racism in the U.S. and beyond.

Among those leading these conversations at the University of Toronto is Professor Maydianne Andrade, vice-dean faculty affairs, equity and success, at U of T Scarborough and a Canada Research Chair in Integrative Behavioural Ecology.

In April, Andrade launched a new podcast, The New Normal, with the aim of exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting our lives. But in the wake of Floyd’s death, the podcast shifted to tackle anti-Black racism, equity and social justice in a special two-part episode, drawing on scholarly perspectives and personal experiences from Andrade and other U of T scholars.

U of T News recently caught up with Andrade to get her thoughts on the latest developments south of the border, systemic racism in Canada and her reflections on addressing anti-Black racism in The New Normal.

Your New Normal podcast took on a different note with your two-part series about anti-Black racism in the wake of the George Floyd killing. Why did you feel it was important to have that discussion?

Throughout the pandemic, it has been clear that people were being made aware of inequities that were not previously visible to them. For some of us, this was not news – we have always noticed that people in lower-paying, often precarious work are not a random subset of the population in Canada. We have always known, and been deeply affected by, the realities behind well-known statistics about differential surveillance and violent encounters between police and Black and Indigenous Canadians in particular. We have experienced fear and sadness and anger about these issues for quite a long time. And we have sought ways to inform others about these realities – often with very little traction except among the communities that are at a disadvantage.

I felt we had to address this in my podcast for two reasons. The first reason was very personal. I could not think about anything else. That is still the case. I am still struggling to maintain some measure of “new normal” while the ongoing violence, racism and divisiveness continues. Many of my Black colleagues feel the same way. It would have been an unsustainable fiction to have episodes about anything else. Lisa Lightbourn, who produces the podcast, reinforced my feelings on this – that people who were not Black were also struggling.

The second reason was that I felt an obligation to those who have started to listen to The New Normal. I knew many of them would be struggling to understand, and would value the space to think about these extremely challenging issues. I saw from the protests that, unlike in the past, people were engaged across racial and socio-economic lines for the first time that I can remember. It was for these listeners that I felt I needed to share not just the facts, but the personal experiences that would allow people to connect with the lived reality of being a Black person in Canada. I am grateful that my guests were willing to share their experiences as well.

As someone who has been involved in equity work for many years, did the conversations about racism and racial injustice in The New Normal result in any new insights for you personally?

As a scientist, I tend to focus on broad explanatory hypotheses and data. The facts. But years in equity work, and the reaction to Enough [the first instalment of the two-part The New Normal episode on anti-Black racism] in particular, made it clear to me that statistics are too sterile in and of themselves to motivate change. It is the personal connections that reach people in a way they cannot ignore. Many colleagues have told me that they wept at the stories they heard: having to explain to a tall 12-year old that the police may hurt them; being stopped and casually humiliated while cycling to work. This is what really reached people.

There have been so many incidents of violent anti-Black racism that it sometimes feels like they blur together. What’s your take on the Jacob Blake incident in particular?

What we need to do is allow ourselves to feel the intensity of each episode, but then ensure we keep in mind that this is just one in a litany. What is needed is a broad change, not a detailed understanding of each case. We will not always know the specific circumstances of each, and it is far too easy to begin to make excuses about the “specifics” of each case. For example, things I have heard, not necessarily about Jacob Blake, but about others:

“Oh, but why did he run?” – Are we surprised that Black men are afraid of police? Does this justify shooting someone in the back?
“But the officer feared for his life!” – Is it legitimate that mistaking a cell phone for a gun justifies homicide? And how do we deal with the studies that show perceptions of Black men are biased towards seeing violence and threat when none exists?
“But we don’t know what happened before the video started!” – Is there ever justification for holding a man’s shirt and firing multiple bullets into his back within a metre of his watching children? Shall we count how many more injuries and killings of Black men there have been since Jacob Blake was shot?

The Jacob Blake shooting led to a new wave of protests and boycotts of major sporting events, as well as statements in support of the Black Lives Matter from brands and organizations. What do you make of these gestures and their potential impact?

I am encouraged by widespread action – particularly from those who have never previously shown support. That support may have been there previously, but silent. Silence does not produce a political will for change.

But we need the support to be more than performative. We are literally dying. And in fear. And at risk. We need to see it affect how people vote. We need to see people support initiatives at work, in schools and in their communities that lead to more equitable lives. I will hold my judgement on what this all means until then.

I remember when I first became a vice-dean and was discussing the U of T’s TRC [Truth and Reconciliation Commission] response initiatives with a student who was an Indigenous activist. She told me that when she described to her mother how the current context was full of potential and change, her mother said, “Well, I hope this time it is different.” One cannot help but temper optimism with realism. “I hope” is a constant companion. In my podcast, I am trying to edit “I hope” out of my language and replace it with something more intentional and deliberate. We must work together to go past hope to action. This is why after Enough we did A Crossroad, which really continues our collective story. Which path will we choose?

As my colleague Onye Nnorom pointed out in Enough, there is no shortage of white papers, reports and proposals on solutions. What is in short supply is the political will and resourcing necessary to actually put them into effect. So, creating solutions is not necessarily where I see the role of the academy. Instead, I look to our role in educating those who will determine whether there is a political will for change.

Just this morning, I read an article on the U.S. institutions that are starting to gaze inwards at their own programs for educating police. What are they teaching? What are they not teaching? How are their students able to move into a structure in which there is systematic devaluing of human lives that are clothed in a particular skin? How have they failed those students, and society if this is the case?

Again, I think of the TRC and the U of T’s response, in which there is an acknowledgement of the culpability of universities in educating those who created the residential school system, and who wrote the racist, twisted laws for stealing land and rights from Indigenous peoples. It is about more than being architects of solutions. It is most transparently this: We must acknowledge that we are culpable if our graduates do not understand that all human lives should be valued and protected, that all should have the opportunity, freedom and resources to thrive, and that we currently live in a society in which this is not the case.

Is there anything else you would like to add about where we currently stand in this conversation?

This is a Canadian problem, too. It is tempting for us to look south and shudder while reaching for comfort in the thought that “things are different here.” But during all of this, we need to remember some facts: We already know in Canada that carding, or surveillance, of Black and Indigenous Canadians occurs at a much higher rate than white Canadians or other Canadians of colour, and this is true across the country. A new report on race and policing in Ontario was released by the Ontario Human Rights Commission just last month. U of T’s Scot Wortley and colleagues have documented the disproportionate rate of injury and death suffered by Black Canadians in Ontario. They have shown that this pattern has been consistent over years. And, in a particularly chilling causal arc, they also show that many of these devastating encounters start with proactive policing of people with no previous criminal record, and for whom there is no specific suspicion of wrongdoing. This is not just an American problem.

The New Normal is created in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by Lightbourn. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or listen on SoundCloud. You can also find it on Apple or listen on Google.

As spring convocation wraps up, six U of T graduates offer advice to future students

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 15:35:31 +0000

As spring convocation wraps up, six U of T graduates offer advice to future students

geoff.vendeville Fri, 06/21/2019 - 11:35

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2019

Cell and Systems Biology

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

English

Ethics

Jackman Humanities Institute

History

Humanities

Innis College

Mathematics

New College

St. Michael's College

The parades of smiling graduates going to and from Convocation Hall are almost over. The crowds of family and friends snapping selfies on front campus will soon be a memory – that is, until the next cohort of students celebrate their big academic milestone in the fall.

But before the University of Toronto’s most recent graduates set off for exciting careers or further study, we asked six from the Faculty of Arts & Science to pass along advice to current and future students.

Each brings a different perspective from a different college, and majored in subjects as diverse as cell biology and criminology.

Talise Beveridge
Woodsworth College
English, history and criminology

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Talise Beveridge says many students get caught up in a routine in which they cycle between home, class and the library.

But as a U of T student, Beveridge’s life consisted of much more than that. She spent a summer abroad at Oxford University, the same place where she will be pursuing a master’s in English and American studies.

She had on-campus jobs at the Athletic Centre and as an exam scribe and reader for students with accessibility needs. She did community work with her sorority and volunteered through the student experience mentorship program.

One of her most memorable experiences was being an undergraduate fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute. The research position allowed her to delve into historical FBI archives and study a 1960s counter-intelligence program in which federal authorities secretly – and sometimes illegally – surveilled domestic political groups like the Black Panthers, Communist Party and anti-Vietnam War movement.

Speaking from experience, she tells current and future students to find interests outside school. “A lot of students get into a bubble of going from the library to class, to their house, and they get wrapped up in their schoolwork,” she says.

“I think I’ve become more invested in my schoolwork because I’ve removed myself from it often.”

“If you feel like your student experience is lacking, I would encourage you to volunteer or get a job on campus. You’ll meet people you wouldn’t otherwise come into contact with. Remember that you’re not only a student, you’re also a community member. That’s a very grounding thing to think about. It helps you realize you’re not just here for school.”

– Jovana Jankovic

Kaitlyn Ferreira
University College
Cell and systems biology and human biology

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Kaitlyn Ferreira’s majors in cell and systems biology and human biology gave her insights into human health at varying scales, from the microscopic to broader views of health and disease.

But the most valuable skill, she says, was learning to adapt when things don’t go as planned.

As a University College orientation leader and peer mentor, she’s thought a lot about what she would tell the students coming behind her. “Enjoy the failures as much as the successes,” she says. “This sounds really out there at first, but trust me, it works.

“In any moment of failure you’re going to be really upset and just want to curl into a ball. And that’s OK, you can do that – but after that, you’re going to roll your sleeves up, crack your knuckles and get back to work.

“When you look back in a week or a month or a year, you’ll see that that moment of failure made you a stronger person, a better student and opened you up to other possibilities that you wouldn't have had if you succeeded in the first place.”

– Sean Bettam

Gina Kwon
Trinity College
Ethics, society and law

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Trinity College’s One Program of small seminars sparked Gina Kwon’s interest in social justice and led her to major in ethics, society and law.

Her passion for the subject motivated her to apply for an international scholarship to assist a researcher at Australian National University. The researcher is exploring Indigenous communities’ disputes with mining companies trying to operate on their land without consent.

“I realized how little I knew about Indigenous-settler relations today,” Kwon said. She added that the research placement broadened her perspective and gave her new cross-cultural insights.

To the next generation of students, she says: “Be honest about the things you don’t know. It’s OK to not know. We’ll always be learning.”

Kwon is heading to Cambridge University this fall to pursue a Master of Philosophy in environmental policy.

– Alexa Zulak

Ethan Kim
Innis College
Neuroscience and molecular biology

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Music plays an important role in Ethan Kim’s life, so it’s no surprise it was a defining feature of his time at U of T. He was a regular at Innis Jamz, a bi-monthly jam session for musicians at U of T’s small and tight-knit college, and was co-director of the Innis College Choir, where he met most of his friends. He also worked on a musical adaptation of Moby Dick with students from other colleges.

On top of that, he started a podcast called Lecture Me Not in which he interviews professors to highlight their personalities and break down the barrier between student and teacher. “Listeners learn about the professor’s life journey and how they got to where they are,” Kim says.

His research focus over the last four years was drug addiction. “We’re hoping to find a switch that turns off drug addiction,” he says, adding a discovery that could help resolve the opioid crisis.

If he could time-travel back to first year, he would tell himself – and, by implication, other first-year students – to worry less.

“Don’t be scared of the future. If you keep working, you’ll eventually get there,” he says. “Don’t worry about other people’s expectations. As long as you meet your own expectations, you’ll be OK. And sleep more. Definitely sleep more.”

– Chris Sasaki

Shweta Mogalapalli
New College
Computer science and mathematics

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Shweta Mogalapalli had a foot in the door with one of the world’s largest companies even before graduating.

She interned twice at Microsoft’s Seattle office and plans to join their Azure IoT team as a full-time engineer after convocation.

She made the most of her university experience as a computer science peer mentor, student ambassador and president of U of T Hacks, a 36-hour hackathon that’s entering its seventh year.
As a mentor, she gave students the advice she would have wanted to hear in first year.

“My advice for students is to not hesitate to reach out for help,” she says.

“Professors, TAs and even upper-year students are always willing to answer questions and help in any way they can. And take advantage of the vast number of events hosted by computer science and other clubs on campus to meet people and make meaningful connections. Networking is very important – not only for career development, but also personal growth.”

– Jovana Jankovic

Natasha Klasios
St. Michael’s College
Ecology and global health

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

It may seem daunting to juggle varsity sports with exams, assignments and labs.

But for Natasha Klasios, playing striker for U of T’s Varsity Blues soccer team while keeping up with school was never a chore. In fact, her efforts on the field contributed to her success in class, she says.

“My Varsity Blues experience taught me how to deal with adversity, and that talent and hard work are necessary for success,” she says.

She won several awards including the Silver T and U Sports Academic All-Canadian Award during her four seasons with the Blues, and represented Canada at the 2017 FISU Summer Universiade in Taipei.

She didn’t just travel for soccer. As an undergraduate researcher in Assistant Professor Chelsea Rochman’s lab, Klasios went to California to collect samples for her undergraduate thesis, which focused on whether mussels and clams in San Francisco Bay ingested microplastics.

To the undergraduates who have yet to don convocation robes, she says: “Get involved. There are so many opportunities available, take advantage of them. U of T is a big school, but I was able to make the most of my time by getting involved in academic research and with the Varsity Blues community.”

– Alexa Zulak

U of T undergraduate students travel to Mexico to research organized crime and corruption

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 29 May 2019 16:31:22 +0000

U of T undergraduate students travel to Mexico to research organized crime and corruption

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:31

Cutline

Students from a fourth-year U of T undergraduate course on organized crime and corruption traveled to Mexico City to meet with Mexican scholars, students, government officials and civil society activists (photo by Solomiya-Mariya Zakharchuk)

Jovana Jankovic

Topic

Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies

St. Michael's College

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

Mexico may be a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history, but a group of undergraduate students from the University of Toronto recently visited for a very different reason: to learn about organized crime, corruption, drug cartels and the massive “narco-insurgency” that large-scale criminal organizations are waging against the Mexican state.

As part of the Faculty of Arts & Science’s International/Indigenous Course Modules (ICM) program, students from the fourth-year undergraduate course on organized crime and corruption traveled to Mexico City to meet with Mexican scholars, students, government officials and civil society activists to learn how organized crime groups develop and how states are combatting the violence and corruption these groups provoke.

Associate Professor Matthew Light of the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies developed this innovative course, the first of its kind at U of T. He believes contemporary Mexico is an excellent practical illustration of the theoretical and historical concepts he presents to his students, so an experiential learning opportunity seemed like the perfect fit for his course material.

“The ICM gave me a great experience of what field research would be like,” says fourth-year St. Michael’s College student David Delle Fave, who is completing a double major in criminology and sociolegal studies along with the ethics, society and law program.

“I took extensive field notes during the trip, and am writing my final project for the class based on my journal.”

The scholarly portions of the students’ trip included meetings with Professor Mónica Serrano of El Colegio de México (Colmex) and the World Economic Forum, as well as her Canadian colleague, Professor Jean François Prud’homme, who is originally from Quebec and now leads the Centro de Estudios Internacionales at Colmex. Students also had the chance to form small co-operative working groups with their Mexican peers, leading to a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the factors that influence crime and corruption.

“We learned, for example, about the impacts of NAFTA on trade and the domestic economy,” says Solomiya-Mariya Zakharchuk, a fourth-year St. Michael’s College student who is completing a double major in political science and criminology. “And we discussed stronger border regulation and higher wages for public officials to dissuade them from corrupt practices.

“It was only through speaking with people from different sectors that I came to understand that the organized crime problem in Mexico must be analyzed through many lenses: economic, political, sociological and agricultural.”

The students also met with government officials like David Perez, a staff member in Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration and Mexican Congresswoman María Rosete.

“It was fascinating to hear Perez speak about the effects of Mexico’s arms trafficking on homicide rates,” says fourth-year Woodsworth College student Sabrina Chee, who is completing a double major in political science, as well as criminology and sociolegal studies.

“He focused on the ways gun policies in the U.S. directly affect gun violence in Mexico, which provided us with a more well-rounded understanding of patterns in policing strategies and pro-active policies adopted across North America.”

Outside of their research, students also had the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of Mexico City, a vast metropolitan area that is home to 21.2 million people – making it the fifth most populous urban area in the world. They visited the city’s famed anthropological museum and the Teotihuacan pyramids, an important pre-Columbian historical site.

A number of students remarked on the transformative experience of visiting the open-air Tepito market. A poor, working-class neighbourhood, Tepito houses a large underground economy and has at times been known as a hotbed of crime. But the ICM students say they felt safe under the supervision of their local guides.

“It was clear that our safety was a primary concern for those coordinating our tour,” says Delle Fave.

Ultimately, the students came away with an eye-opening impression of how stereotypes conflict with reality.

The Tepito market visit was “the most unexpected experience I had on my trip,” says Delle Fave. “Our visit broke down some of the stereotypes that many students had about the market. We got a first-hand, in-depth understanding of the history of the area, as well as the people who live there.”

The trip helped students distinguish between stereotypes about Mexico – that it’s overrun by crime – and the diverse reality of the country and its people.

“Learning about and listening to many of the lived experiences of people who have been directly involved in, or affected by, the lucrative arms and drug trade helped us to bridge the gap between appearance and reality,” says Chee.

Chee says her experience inspired her to think more deeply about the ways she can help improve the lives of people affected by violence, particularly women and girls. “My experience in Mexico City solidified my choice to pursue a career in the foreign services and advocate for human rights,” she says.

More than just advancing their education and careers, students remarked that the ICM trip solidified and strengthened their friendships with each other and their Mexican peers.

“My biggest takeaway from this trip, beyond the knowledge I acquired, is definitely the friendships I've formed with my classmates and with the students in Mexico,” says Jennifer Chan, a fourth-year Victoria College student completing a double major in psychology and criminology.

“The time we spent together learning about issues and policies in Mexico, exploring the city and discussing the causes each of us care about allowed us to develop friendships that cannot be replaced. Without the ICM, I would not have met people who constantly inspire me with their passion for making a positive impact.”

'I think the time is right': U of T's Kelly Hannah-Moffat on corrections reform and her new role as special adviser

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 11 May 2018 13:45:48 +0000

'I think the time is right': U of T's Kelly Hannah-Moffat on corrections reform and her new role as special adviser

noreen.rasbach Fri, 05/11/2018 - 09:45

Cutline

U of T's vice-president of human resources & equity has been named by the province as a special adviser on the correctional system (photo by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

City & Culture

Human Resources & Equity

Research & Innovation

For the last 25 years, Kelly Hannah-Moffat has been researching human rights issues in the correctional system.

The University of Toronto criminology professor’s work has taken her to some of the world’s most notorious prisons and solitary confinement cells.

Here in Canada, she has testified as an expert witness in the coroner’s inquest into the 2007 death of Ashley Smith, the teen whose self-strangulation in custody became a symbol of the justice system’s inability to treat the mentally ill.

She has testified in the case of Adam Capay, which made headlines in 2016 after it was revealed that the young Indigenous man had spent more than four years in solitary confinement awaiting trial.

A new role as special adviser on the adult corrections system will allow Hannah-Moffat, who also serves as U of T’s vice-president of human resources & equity, the opportunity to tackle reforms head on. The Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services tapped her and Justice David Cole to explore how the province can improve services and conditions in solitary confinement, especially for those with mental health issues.

Hannah-Moffat believes there may be enough momentum now to drive corrections reforms, with high-profile cases emerging in the last few years of people – some with mental health issues, others from marginalized populations – dying or suffering in solitary confinement.

“I think the time is right,” she says. “You’ve got some really high-profile litigation that speaks to the damaging effects of solitary confinement. You have the Ontario Human Rights Commission that is very aware of these issues. You have civil liberties organizations calling for change. You have the public that is appalled by the treatment of some individuals in custody.

“And you have a government right now that is willing and responsive to the need for change.”

The appointment comes on the heels of a joint agreement reached earlier this year between the government and the Ontario Human Rights Commission, following the 2013 settlement in the case of former inmate Christina Jahn, who was kept in segregation for 210 days despite suffering from mental illness, addictions and cancer.

“The work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission has been essential and pivotal in driving change, particularly in terms of this appointment and this decision,” Hannah-Moffat says.

In the last three to four years, a number of legal cases have been brought through the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association that have called for restrictions on the use of solitary confinement, better oversight, more accountability and transparency.

The Jahn settlement led to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in January issuing a consent order requiring that the Ontario government not use segregation for individuals with mental illness in correctional facilities, except under exceptional circumstances.

The order requires the province to take steps including implementing a system that identifies individuals with mental health issues, tracking segregation and monitoring the health of people placed in confinement. The province was also required to appoint an independent reviewer to monitor compliance, and collect and publicly report data on segregation of inmates to ensure that no one slips through the cracks.

Justice Cole will act as the independent reviewer, with a final report expected from him by September 2019. Hannah-Moffat will act as an independent expert on human rights, imprisonment and correctional policy reform for the ministry.

“So part of this role is actually an attempt to ensure that there is more transparency and data available to the public on correctional practices in Ontario,” Hannah-Moffat says. “This also happens on a broader context of Ontario looking to make some fundamental changes in corrections and to ensure that a human rights approach is considered alongside correctional concerns about safety and security.”

Hannah-Moffat, who worked as a policy adviser on the Arbour Commission inquiry into Kingston’s Prison for Women while she was working on her PhD in the mid 1990s, says she became interested in correctional issues after learning about the wrongful conviction of Steven Truscott for the murder of Lynne Harper.

Early on, she had worked in prisons as a recreation officer, and had volunteered with community organizations working with women behind bars.

“It made me very aware of the monumental effects of incarceration on people’s lives and not just those who are incarcerated but those who love people who are incarcerated like families and friends,” she says.

She also became interested in conflict resolution, mediation, tackling systemic issues leading to high incarceration rates for marginalized populations, and finding alternatives to custody and solitary confinement. She has published three books, numerous articles, served several years as president of the Elizabeth Fry Society and is co-editor-in-chief of the journal Punishment and Society.

“The experience of solitary confinement for many people is it causes a lot of emotional and psychological harm, and it’s not particularly effective at maintaining institutional safety or security,” she says. “It can lead to depression, loneliness, anxiety, aggression, a wide range of negative effects. It can exacerbate existing mental health issues.

“We really need to invest in thinking outside of the box and finding alternatives and really relying less on such punitive interventions that produce harm.”

She adds that people in incarceration have the same human rights as everyone else, yet because prisons are “out of sight, out of mind,” we have very little knowledge of what takes place inside.

“A lot of my work has been about accountability and oversight in these institutions because I think prisons need to be vigilant about the rule of law, and they need to be vigilant about the protection of human rights issues because when you’re in custody, you’re more likely to need those protections,” Hannah-Moffat says.

“The human rights afforded to people in custody are the exact same ones afforded to you and me. People can make terrible choices that have terrible consequences, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still retain the capacity to change.”

U of T experts on police officer's conduct in Toronto van attack

ullahnor — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 20:19:12 +0000

U of T experts on police officer's conduct in Toronto van attack

ullahnor Tue, 04/24/2018 - 16:19

Cutline

A 25-year-old man has been charged after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 15 others on Yonge Street in North York on Monday (photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

City & Culture

Psychology

U of T Mississauga

As police continue investigating Monday's van attack that killed 10 people and injured 15 others, the officer who apprehended the suspect has come under praise from supervisors and the public for how he handled the arrest.

Scot Wortley, an associate professor of criminology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, said despite being in a tense situation, with only seconds to make a decision, the officer determined the threat from the suspect did not warrant using lethal force, and instead opted for de-escalation techniques.

“The credit is due to the nature of the training and the individual officer’s ability to handle a stressful circumstance,” Wortley said. “If the video had shown that the officer had shot and killed the suspect, I think it would have been probably deemed justifiable force – that the individual was dangerous, that he was acting in a provocative manner.

“But the value of not using force is that there is a live suspect, somebody to interview, somebody that we might be able to figure out the motive for the massacre, and that might help us understand the psychology of such events and perhaps contribute to future prevention.”

U of T News spoke with Wortley, who has conducted extensive analysis of police use of force in Ontario, and his PhD student Erick Laming, who also researches police technology and use of force. Judith Andersen, an assistant professor of psychology at U of T Mississauga who is working with Peel Regional Police to help officers control their reactions under stress and improve split-second decisions, also weighed in.

Scot Wortley

What did the police officer do right in this situation?

I’ve seen the videotaped interaction between the suspect and the police officer. The result of this interaction is probably a combination of the officer’s training and his own personality. I heard the head of the police association today describe him as someone who is calm and cool under pressure, and he clearly manifested those characteristics during this encounter.

Despite the massacre that had just taken place, and I have no idea if the officer was aware of that massacre or not at the time he confronted the suspect, there's clear indication that the officer did not try to act as some kind of instrument of justice and shoot the individual under circumstances where he was clearly identified as dangerous.

Officers are trained to only use force when there's an immediate threat to themselves, to other civilians and to other officers. It looks like when the officer confronted the individual, he was able to properly ascertain that, despite threats of having a firearm, the individual was actually pulling and pointing a cellphone. He might have anticipated some mental health issues, or that this might have been a suicide-by-police scenario because the individual, according to the footage I’ve seen, kept saying, “Shoot me. Shoot me.”

It looks like the officer, under pressure with only seconds to make decisions, was able to ascertain that at that moment the threat from the suspect did not warrant lethal force, and as a result was able to use de-escalation techniques and arrest the individual without injuring him. The credit is due to the nature of the training and the individual officer’s ability to handle a stressful circumstance.

If the video had shown that the officer had shot and killed the suspect, I think it would have been probably deemed justifiable force – that the individual was dangerous, that he was acting in a provocative manner. But the value of not using force is that there is a live suspect, somebody to interview, somebody that we might be able to figure out the motive for the massacre and that might help us understand the psychology of such events and perhaps contribute to future prevention.

Are we better here at de-escalation practices than, for example, the United States?

I don’t think there's really good data that exists now. I can't provide figures which would document that Toronto police or Canadian police are much less likely to use force, but I think it is likely. That would be the hypothesis that I would have. But I do think we need better systems of research and accountability and transparency when it comes to the use-of-force cases. Definitely if you were looking at the violent crime rate, which, depending on the jurisdiction, can be many, many times higher than any jurisdiction in Canada, there's the possibility of police confronting violent offenders.

The availability of firearms is much more prevalent in the U.S. than it is in Canada, which may increase the likelihood that officers will confront armed suspects in the U.S. than in Canada. But I do not know of any differences in training. I think Toronto is a modern police service and probably has state-of-the-art training in terms of police use of force.

A woman covers her face as police shut down parts of Yonge Street Monday after a van struck pedestrians between Sheppard and Finch avenues (photo by Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

What about the race element? Critics have said the situation would have been very different with a racialized suspect.

That’s the million-dollar question. I think we have to step back, and we have to garner better data on those types of circumstances. I think the statistics that have been released in Canada show that Indigenous and African-Canadian individuals are much more likely to be involved in cases of police use of force, depending on the area of the country you’re living in. I've worked on a study showing over-representation of Black and Indigenous people with respect to police use of force that resulted in death between 2000 and 2006, and that over-representation was also documented in a recent CBC study. The debate is to what extent that is the result of legitimate police use of force versus illegitimate use of force. Whether or not this officer would have acted differently, if faced with a minority suspect, is an interesting question, but impossible to determine based on this case in isolation.

There's going to be different interpretations of that. The police interpretation will be that we have more violent confrontations with Black and Indigenous civilians than we do with whites, and that would explain the over-representation in use-of-force cases. Obviously at the other extreme, you look at allegations from Black Lives Matters and others, that it is due to racism and racialized fears. We can't answer these questions based on this individual case. We need a much broader research agenda in order to do that accurately. The problem is so far in Canadian criminal justice history, access to such data has been difficult if not impossible, which makes it difficult for researchers to properly address.

There’s probably many, many examples where officers face violence and confrontations with civilians and do not use force, and are somehow able to de-escalate the situation and make an arrest without harming the civilian. Those cases, however, do not garner media attention. The only reason this particular case is getting the media coverage that it deserves is because of the actions of the civilian before this police encounter, the fact that he was engaged in mass murder, and the fact that it was captured on video.

So I think when we’re looking at establishing a research agenda on these issues, it’s just as important to examine cases where police do not use force as it is to examine cases where they do.

Erick Laming

It was a very effective way of de-escalating a situation.

This happens every day. Police are trained to do this. Obviously, it’s become more highlighted in the media because there's a lot of cases where police have used lethal force or unjustified force against marginalized people. But what happened Monday, this is how a lot of cases do unfold across Canada. We are just not privy to that information. Hopefully this will change some perceptions in the public. This is actually how police deal effectively in situations like this.

He was using a vest in the situation. He had his firearm out. He was in a position that if he needed to use lethal force, he would have. He was just communicating to the individual. He also may have recognized maybe this guy could be mentally ill so obviously you have to just talk to the person.

He’s a ten-year veteran, so he’s gone through this training every year, especially the de-escalation and mental health training.

The problem is we don’t know how effective this training is. They could say we have four hours of mental health training, but what does that mean? Is it just a lecture, is it another police officer giving a lecture based on something he read in textbook? We don’t know. So that’s a problem with training. It needs more evaluation to see how effective it is.

Judith Andersen

The police response to the van attack is yet another example of the top-notch service that our police officers provide in this city. The officer correctly identified that the person did not have a weapon and he de-escalated the situation by taking the person – who was clearly a danger to society – into custody.

The person's reason for doing what he did, and whether he has a mental health concern, can be discussed after the threat to public safety has been resolved – which is exactly what a police officer's job is, and the officer did it correctly.

Exploring the world of Netflix's ‘Narcos’: U of T students learn about the shadowy world of organized crime in Mexico

ullahnor — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 19:49:52 +0000

Exploring the world of Netflix's ‘Narcos’: U of T students learn about the shadowy world of organized crime in Mexico

ullahnor Fri, 03/24/2017 - 15:49

Cutline

U of T students listen to a talk by Mexican Federal Police on problems of security in Mexico during the trip

Michael Collins

Author legacy

Michael Collins

Topic

Mexico

Organized Crime

A group of fourth-year students in an organized crime and corruption course at the U of T's Centre for Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies explored the complicated world of Mexico’s narco-insurgency and organized crime.

The students were part of an International Course Module (ICM) designed and led by Matthew Light, an associate professor of criminology & socio-legal studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. The course module program allows faculty to incorporate real-life international experiences into existing undergraduate courses.

Light said he chose Mexico because the country is the site of the most significant mafia insurgency in the world right now.

“Since the early 2000s, the conflict involving the Mexican government and the drug cartels has caused casualties on a scale similar to an actual war,” said Light. “Parts of the country are now heavily infiltrated by the cartels, and the crisis is highly relevant for Canada as well because Mexico is a close neighbour and a major trading partner.”

Light worked in conjunction with Professor Mónica Serrano of El Colegio de Mexico, a leading expert on Mexico’s security crisis, to line-up meetings, guest speakers and tours for the students.

“I think the students particularly loved the two tours we were given of the Mexican Federal Police headquarters where we saw a remarkable display of law enforcement technology and training methods,” said Light.

But for Michelle Salamat, a double major in criminology & socio-legal studies and ethics, society & law, the security convoy that drove ahead of the U of T group on the way to the Federal Police Tactical Operations Centre was the highlight of her trip. Throughout the trip, the students were protected by an armed convoy of the Mexican Federal Police.

“It was surreal to watch as we followed police officers with huge rifles standing in a pickup truck,” she said. “I was very taken aback by the hospitality and the enormous efforts made by the Mexican police to inform us of the work that they do.”

Gloria Baron, who is combining sociology and criminology & socio-legal studies, says she welcomed the opportunity to see Mexico first-hand because it allowed her to directly witness the reality of that country’s security crisis.

“Getting to see the heavy police presence and to hear different perspectives on the security crisis significantly enhanced my understanding and learning of the subject,” said Baron. “We got to learn, engage and ask questions of different speakers.”

Kimberly Legate, who is studying psychology and criminology & socio-legal studies, says her experience helped her become comfortable asking critical questions and gave her an informed opinion of the drug conflict.

“I learned to not be intimidated by experts in a given field, and to take advantage of every opportunity to ask questions,” said Legate. “The trip also gave me a better idea of the abundance of unique positions available for people with criminology backgrounds.”

Salamat said the connections that the Arts & Science students made with Mexican students from El Colegio de Mexico were informative. Legate agreed.

“We were able to get a first-hand account of what everyday life is like in Mexico, especially through the political and legal changes that have occurred over the past 10 years,” Legate said.

“Many of the Mexican students gave us their opinions on the Federal Police's approach to fighting the drug cartels. It was an amazing experience to hear opinions from both sides of the issue with one student noting that he had a more favourable view of the cartels considering the resources that they have provided to his village back home.”

Anger in the sky: U of T research shows air rage a product of class difference

lavende4 — Wed, 04 May 2016 13:56:53 +0000

Anger in the sky: U of T research shows air rage a product of class difference

lavende4 Wed, 05/04/2016 - 09:56

Cutline

Does this image make you feel cranky? Forcing economy passengers to walk through first-class compartments increases air rage, says Katy DeCelles (Miguel Medina/Getty Images)

Ken McGuffin

Author legacy

Ken McGuffin

Topic

Rotman School of Management

Travel

Research & Innovation

Collaboration

Subheadline

“I expected there to be more support for a lack of leg room as a contributor to air rage”

A Korean airline executive is jailed after she throws a handful of macadamia nuts at a flight attendant.

A flight from Rome to Chicago has to dump thousands of litres of fuel and land in Belfast after a passenger starts to act belligerently.

A passenger on a flight from Dubai to Birmingham, England, is arrested after he threatens a flight attendant, makes racist remarks and punches an inflight entertainment system.

These are just some of the thousands of incidents of air rage that occur every year. Now, a University of Toronto researcher and her Harvard colleague say they have discovered one of the major causes – and it’s not what you might think.

We blame air rage on long flight delays, shrinking seats and a general decline in civility. But the first empirical research study into the phenomenon pegs another culprit – class inequality – for the reason passengers lose it when taking to the so-called friendly skies.

Katy DeCelles, an associate professor in organizational behaviour and human resource management at U of T’s Rotman School of Management, says that visible inequality between first class and economy class passengers is one of the leading causes of air rage – among both groups of travellers.

Air rage incidents are more likely when the plane has a first class cabin, says the study, co-written by Michael Norton of the Harvard Business School. The odds increase when economy passengers have to pass through first class to get to their seats, reinforcing the inequality.

Simply having a first-class compartment made an air rage incident nearly four times more likely, equivalent to the effect of a nine-hour flight delay, the study found. The bad behaviour was higher not only for economy passengers, but those in first class too.

Other factors such as crowdedness, alcohol consumption and long flights can contribute to disruptive incidents, says DeCelles, but her research found their impact was smaller than you might expect.

“I expected there to be more support for a lack of leg room as a contributor to air rage, given the attention that leg room has had – but there wasn't,” says DeCelles, who is also cross-appointed at U of T's Centre for Criminological Research.

Although the study did not delve into the reasons behind its findings, past research has identified that people tend to have poorer health, well-being and behavioural outcomes when they experience comparative deprivation or feel treated unequally or unfairly. This study contributes to the research by showing that even temporary experiences of inequality can have negative effects.

The study has made headlines here at home and around the world, in major news outlets and on social media.

See the CNN coverage

Read the Los Angeles Times article

See the Global News coverage

DeCelles used a database of thousands of documented disruptive flight incidents over several years for a large international airline. The incidents were serious enough to be considered a threat to onboard safety, such as passengers refusing to sit down, yelling obscenities at a flight attendant or interfering with smoke sensors so they could sneak a cigarette. The majority of incidents involved belligerent behaviour or intoxication.

The results have implications for any physical environment where differences in class or status are apparent – such as a tiered stadium or a workplace where lower-level employees have to pass by executive offices to get to their cubicles. Meanwhile, airlines that want to consider how to reduce negative behaviour may want to think about ways to de-emphasize differences between passenger groups, such as using a dual gating system.

“The more you can use those dual gates to board airplanes, separating the first-class cabin from the economy cabin, you're going to have less air rage in both cabins,” DeCelles says.

The study was published earlier this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Uber: criminology professor on the controversial, California-based company

sgupta — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 16:52:46 +0000

Uber: criminology professor on the controversial, California-based company sgupta Fri, 10/02/2015 - 12:52

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic