Policing

This notice (left) most likely corresponds to the rally referenced in the Edmonton Journal article Student Charges Police Assault from March 26, 1969. It represents the long fight against campus policing at the University of Alberta which began in that year. Students were protesting against the heavy-handedness and free-reign of the institutional campus police force. Many groups expressed that they actually felt less safe with the uniformed police and “undercover” officers on campus. Student groups actively fought by organizing rallies, writing newspaper editorials, repeatedly using official channels and generally vocalizing their opposition.

Their fight, as well as more information about the event, was chronicled by the Edmonton Journal. The article Campus Police Centre of U Controversy reported that University of Alberta officials complained police on campus were endangering the freedom of staff and students. At the time, there were no regulations governing the campus police. This article was followed by another reporting that an anti-police radical student group was planning to hold a rally in front of University Hall. University officials claimed that those involved "are just trying to create trouble” (1969, March 19, p. 67). A subsequent article reported that a student radical leader formally accused the campus police chief of assault (1969, March 27, p. 43). “If I found a cop in my class I’d throw him out bodily’ said Professor R. C. Wade. ‘There is no end to where this sort of thing can lead.’” (Edmonton Journal, March 27, 1969, p. 43). 

The evidence of this struggle reflects a larger concern at the time over the power given to policing authorities. Globally there was growing attention to how police power, ostensibly intended to protect people by maintaining “law and order,” in actuality made people unsafe and led to the victimization of marginalized groups. 

“WASHINGTON – College officials across the U. S. appear more determined this year to crack down on disruptive students. Many administrators spent the summer preparing plans to deal with any recurrence of the turmoil of last spring, when student strikes and boycotts hit as many as 450 campuses and forced dozens to shut down” (The Edmonton Journal, 1970, September 21).

Policing is always of  particular concern to women’s and minority rights groups. Work towards women’s rights and work against unfair or unlawful policing often go hand-in-hand. The enforcement of laws which allow people in authority to exert control over other’s bodies and actions often result in the targeting of women and minorities, and legitimize the use of power against them. Studies continue to show that women, particularly women of colour, are disproportionately affected by gaps in policy and lack of oversight regulating police behavior (Ritchie and Jones-Brown, 2017). 

References

Campus Police Centre of U Controversy. (1969, March 19). The Edmonton Journal, 67. 

Craig, B. (1969, March 27). Students Want Campus Police Stripped of Power. The Edmonton Journal, 43.

McNeilly, G. (2012, May). Policing the right to protest; G20 systemic review report. Office of the Independent Police Review Director, Public Safety Canada. https://www.oiprd.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/G20-Systemic-Review-2012_E.pdf

Ritchie, A. J., Jones-Brown, D. (2017, January 26). Policing race, gender, and sex: A review of law enforcement policies. Women & Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2016.1259599

Rosenbaum, D. E. (1970, September 21). Colleges Ready for Winter of Discontent. The Edmonton Journal, 5.

Student Charges Police Assault. (1969, March 26). The Edmonton Journal, 47.