Regina police officers aren't racist: chief

Regina’s police chief insists there are no racists in his force.
 
Troy Hagen made the comments after the RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson admitted he believed some Mounties may be racist.
 
Hagen says he has no evidence or substantiated complaint or anything brought to his attention to suggest there are racists in his force. But admits he can offer no guarantees.
 
“No one can provide and afford that reassurance in life when you are dealing with human beings,” he said in a lengthy scrum with reporters at Regina Police Service (RPS) headquarters.
 
Hagen has such confidence in the RPS force because of what he describes as the rigorous hiring processes that screen for this sort of thing.
 
“We vet and screen and polygraph to look for character,” he explained.
 
Once a person becomes a police officer though, they are not routinely subjected to same tests throughout their career.
 
There are been some comment about the way officers are carding people, or what Hagen prefers to call, street checks and whether any one race is targeted.
 
Hagen contends that is not the case and that police investigations begin with the crime itself, the area it was in and any evidence that provides that should be followed.
 
The Saskatchewan Police Commission and the Saskatchewan Chiefs of Police are working on developing a policy around street checks. It is hoped data will be collected when street checks take place and that information released to the public.