Access to Alternatives Starts with Police and RCMP

The action police take can determine how people interact with the legal system and influence the outcomes. Police and RCMP have a lot of discretion in how they deal with events. You can ask questions to help encourage actions you want to see, such as:

• What is your Police department/RCMP’s detachment policy regarding not pursuing criminal charges for minor offences, or referring a matter for Alternative Measures (a type of community resolution rather than through the courts)?
• What is the breakdown by gender and race of those individuals police release on a Promise to Appear or Police Undertaking versus those held over for a bail hearing?