Nunavik police under review after 3rd shooting in 8 months
Kativik Regional Government launches audit into policies and practices of police service
Kativik Regional Government is reviewing the practices of the Nunavik Police Service after the third police shooting in eight months occurred last week in Inukjuak. (File photo)
The Kativik Regional Government has launched a review of the Nunavik Police Service following the third fatal police shooting in eight months.
“These repeated fatal shootings deny Nunavimmiut the opportunity to heal and to feel fully safe in their communities,” KRG vice-chairperson Mary Arngaq said in a news release issued Monday.
KRG’s executive committee held an emergency meeting this week to discuss police operations and practices and to ensure community members feel safe.
The regional government said in the release it will work on a plan to end the rotational system for police management where officers move in and out of the Nunavik communities they serve.
The most recent shooting occurred Thursday in Inukjuak, killing one person, whose name has not been released.
That incident is under investigation by Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, which looks into cases where members of the public die or are injured during contact with police.
KRG offered condolences to the person’s family and said it is co-ordinating grief and trauma counselling for people in the community.
The regional government is also calling on the Quebec government to improve the way Nunavik investigations are handled.
It wants the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes to hold public meetings with impacted communities to review results of its investigations, publish investigation findings in Inuktitut, and to agree to produce complete final reports within six months of the incidents.
The office of Quebec’s minister of public security said it supports KRG’s independent audit, in a French statement emailed to Nunatsiaq News.
It said François Bonnardel, the minister of public security, and Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit, met with the KRG in June to discuss issues surrounding Nunavik’s police service.
Let’s put this in perspective:
There have been 3 fatal police shootings in Nunavik over the past 8 months. That translates to roughly 5 per year.
With a population of just 14,000, this amounts to an alarming 36 fatal police shootings per 100,000 people annually.
For comparison, Venezuela—the country with the highest rate of police killings in the world—has a rate of 18 per 100,000. That means Nunavik’s rate is double that of Venezuela.
Regardless of motive or circumstance, this is unacceptable. No region in a developed country…especially not Canada, should have statistics that exceed those of the most violent and repressive states in the world.
Nunavik conversely has 5 to 7 homicides per year (Inuit killing Inuit, or nurses, or police for that matter). Also matching the homicide rate of Venezuela, in bad years doubling their homicide rate
Your data highlights as well as the one cited above the actual issue in Nunavik = the ultra-violent population and the fact when ultra violent people, armed with guns and knives, while obliterated on both alcohol and speed (meth) encounter police while perpetually violent, shootings are going to occur.
Anyone coming to the conclusion that this is the ‘police’ as the problem, REALLY need to go and watch police in Salluit and Puvirnituq working their night shifts. The Inuit, as in, normal people, are completely dependent upon the police for their safety and wellbeing in nunavik and anyone not seeing this is completely disconnected from what is actually happening there
Both Nunavut and NWT have similar homicide rates per 100,000 as Nunavik, yet RCMP have been involved in fewer fatal shootings in those regions. Seems like the only difference is the police force.
Go do the math again
NWT and Nunavut both have homicide rates half that of Nunavik on their ‘worst years’ . Usually 10/15 per 100k . Nunavik on a ‘low’ year is 30 to high of 50 per 100k.
Nunavik is a league of its own for violence.
Since 2017 there have been 42 homicides in Nunavik, and 17 police related deaths. That is police kill 1 person for every 2.4 homicide. Now thats some math for you.
I worked in Puvirnituq, and some shifts in the jail guarding. Wow people the trouble is phenomenon. The drunk and drugged night craziest people is beyond comprehension. It it wasn’t for police it would be a war zone worse than anything you are seeing in the middle east. I can’t believe its going on.
The petitions and statements from some Inuit leaders going around to disarm the police officers of Nunavik are fantastic.
Yes, let’s disarm law enforcement and send them peacefully resolve conflicts in some of the most volatile households in Canada. All of which have guns.
Would Inuit do this job? Unarmed? You’d think they would not need the cultural sensitivity trainings that are said to resolve all of this.
The sad reality of Nunavik is that it remains one of the most violent areas of Canada. In the post 16 years, officers have been shot in Akulivik, Inukjuak and Kuujjuaq.
Nunavik police officers have been routinely armed for nearly 20 years. They’ve have never been credibly accused of an improper shooting.
The issue remains the degree to which violence remains endemic within Nunavik. No other police service would function much differently in the same circumstances.
The violence is exacerbated by housing shortages, alcohol, drugs and generations of trauma. There is no way out of this crisis until people acknowledge the underlying violence.
Yes , plus will also work if police officers have a normal attitude when going public . Even just police waving and showing is happiness toward public shows . Yes we get you are there to serve and protect but don’t need to scare and offend . Once public see good cop , lots of nice thing occur . It’s the small gestures that really make a difference . Pretty hard to respect cops when they are like bouncers in public thinking everybody is drunks . Yes there are drunks everywhere in world too . Everything can resolve if attitude of thy person doing thy task .
Ok
2022 onwards the trend for crimes went super super low (as per documented reality) they have to pivot to something new, like something drastically new that it kills.
Bulletproof vests for everyone in all 14 communities 🚨🤑 $528M budget will cover it.
Its not hard to see inuit fearing each other. Inuit women are notorious afraid of inuit men. Violence against women is hard to find anywhere else. If it wasn’t for police the violence today would overwhelm the society in a state of war against the weak and the vulnerable. Thanks for the police. I saw days in the past where there were no police in many Nunavik communities and the misery and fearful lives of inuit were incredibly