Perceptions of Policing Within Somali Diasporas in Canada

• In Event: Perceptions of Police: International Perspectives

Abstract

In this project funded by the Kanishka Initiative of Public Safety Canada, over 200 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Somali communities in Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario (Canada). In recent years, the Somali diaspora has received negative attention in the media because of the disproportionate number of young, male Somali-Canadians involved in homicides in Edmonton and the community’s alleged connections with international terrorist groups (e.g., al-Shabaab). As a community subject to increased violent crime and marginalization, the community’s relations with the police merit investigation. This paper will examine community members’ perceptions of the police, particularly in their dual capacities of preventing crime and disorder and promoting social harmony and community welfare.

Authors

• Katherine G. Hancock, University of Alberta

• Sara K. Thompson, Ryerson University

• Sandra M. Bucerius, University of Alberta