KITCHENER -- A Waterloo regional police project aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion is being met with a divisive response.
Some community members say the new diversity-focused police cruiser design doesn't help address their concerns when it comes to policing, although regional police say it's only one part of a larger plan.
"I don't understand how painting a police car is going to stop systemic racism in policing," said Lori Campbell, director of the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre at the University of Waterloo
The vehicle is being called the service's first diversity-focused community cruiser design. It shows artwork that represents the African, Caribbean, South Asian and Arabic cultures.
Campbell says the design misses the mark when it comes to addressing the concerns of BIPOC community members.
"We weren't saying we don't see ourselves in policing, what we were saying is we don't want to be disproportionally brutalized by the policing system," she explained.
Police say the design for this cruiser was developed by the police service's Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (EID) Unit in consultation with the community. They add that the diversity designs are only added to new cruisers being brought into the fleet as older models age out.
"Whether or not we add the ordinary police decals or the diversity decals, there is still a cost associated with it. The difference between the two is quite marginal," said Sgt. Eric Boynton, a member of the EID Unit.
However, the announcement comes as calls grow to defund the police. With Waterloo Coun. Jen Vasic writing a Twitter thread that said in part that the "optics are bad & the impact is worse."
In a statement to CTV News, Lang Ncube, the community development coordinator for the African Caribbean And Black Network Of Waterloo Region wrote, "Dressing up police cruisers in the name of 'diversity' is a performative action that does nothing to address systemic police violence. It is a tone deaf reaction to civilians' concerns and a waste of taxpayer dollars."
Police say the cruiser design does not replace the anti-racism training that will start next month to educate all WRPS members.
"I know our team is rooted in a good place and I know we're trying to build better bridges with the community and this is a piece of a greater puzzle and would never be the sole strategy to making a difference," said Boynton.
Three other cruiser designs are expected to roll out throughout the year representing different groups in the community.
