Joe Hermer – The Conversation

Police remove encampment supporters as they clear Lamport Stadium Park encampment in Toronto on July 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

July 27, 2021

Homeless encampment violence in Toronto betrays any real hope for police reform

Joe Hermer, University of Toronto

A year after historic protests for police reform, it’s clear that the Toronto Police aren’t sincere about changing how they treat historically over-policed and criminalized communities.

A homeless person lies in a tent pitched in downtown in Toronto on April 18, 2020. Many of the city’s homeless population have taken to staying in tents around the city as concerns mount about the safety of the shelter system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

April 23, 2020

Ontario’s Safe Streets Act will cost lives amid the coronavirus pandemic

Joe Hermer, University of Toronto; Bill O'Grady, University of Guelph; Marie-Eve Sylvestre, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Suzanne Bouclin, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Police officers are integral front-line workers during this extraordinary crisis. They should be empowered to act as protectors of the vulnerable, not as persecutors of homeless people.

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