Vancouver's 2010 security unit denies cultural profiling allegation
By LORI CULBERT, Vancouver SunJanuary 19, 2010
VANCOUVER -- Police have completed 120,000 accreditation checks on those wanting to work in Olympic venues, and at least another 5,000 will be conducted in the next three weeks.
Fewer than one per cent of those applicants failed the accreditation process, said Cpl. Jen Allan, of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (ISU).
Two Muslim men, Ali Karim and Usama Ismail, were trained by a Vancouver-based security company but failed the background checks, and told the CBC they fear they were the victims of cultural profiling. The men, who both reportedly were recently made Canadian citizens, were quoted as saying they feared they were targeted by police because of their faith.
The Vancouver Sun was unable to reach either man.
Allan denied their allegations, but would not discuss the specifics of their case. Generally, she said, the ISU's "comprehensive" security background checks put applicants' names through police databases such as CPIC, and others run by agencies such as Canada Border Services, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, CSIS and Interpol.
ISU then gives applicants a pass or fail, and the Vancouver Organizing Committee (Vanoc) decides whether to hire them.
Allan would not provide a breakdown of those who were rejected by the accreditation process. "We do not keep stats based on gender or race or religion because those are not factors in the screening process," she said.
Applicants denied accreditation can find out why by making an ATIP (Access To Information and Privacy) request to Ottawa. Allan said the information can be obtained in a week, and the ISU will review any applications brought back to their attention.
Allan did not know if any applicants initially rejected by the background checks were reinstated after an ISU review.
Ismail and Karim were trained by Contemporary Security Canada, which has hired 5,000 security screeners to work in Olympic venues.
The people hired by Contemporary are trained but their employment is conditional upon whether they pass the accreditation process, said project director Todd Severson. He did not know how many of his hirees had failed.
Contemporary hired a "very diverse group ... from different ethnicities and cultures," Severson said, by recruiting at job fairs and community celebrations.
Security firm Commissionaires BC has hired an extra 300 people, and will be looking for another 40 or so during a hiring blitz this week, to secure facilities such as installations for soldiers and police. While their hires don't require Vanoc accreditation, they have to pass checks by the RCMP, and provincial and federal governments.
Commissionaires CEO Allen Batchelar said he has seen no evidence of racial profiling in the security checks, noting his organization has evolved from one that was predominantly white 12 years ago. "Today we've got people from virtually every country in the world, every ethnic background."
The criteria for his employees, Batchelar said, is they don't necessarily have to be Canadian citizens, but must have been in the country for at least five years so officials can check their backgrounds.
The ISU is conducting accreditation checks for a wide range of people, including volunteers, journalists, paramedics and firefighters.
Initially the plan was to conduct 125,000 of these checks before the Games begin Feb. 12, but it is anticipated even more than that will be done, Allan said. |
