Let’s quantify and qualify the G20 arrests

Here’s a tally of the arrests made during the G20, brought to you by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. They’re one of the leading bodies calling for an inquiry, and this post follows another in which they throw their support behind the Toronto Police Services Board and its upcoming civilian review. Thanks to Antonia Zerbisias for the link.

For the record, by the way, I think an independent inquiry is a good idea and a necessary measure. But more to come on that later. Not much more, but still.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the numbers. The total given by the CCLA, drawing on source material from the Toronto Police Service and the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, is 1,105 people. Out of that total, 113 were released at the scene with no charges laid; 714 were charged on breach of the peace, detained for up to twenty-four hours, and released unconditionally with no charges laid; 15 were charged with offences, detained, and released on a promise to appear; and the remaining 263 were charged and detained for bail hearings.

As of Tuesday, out of those 263, 16 were in custody pending completion of their hearings; 6 or less had been denied bail; and 245 had been granted bail. Mind you, those figures may not be exact, since they add up to 267.

At any rate, that 1,105 figure is the highest number of mass arrests in our country’s history. For context, the CCLA provides a few notable previous mass arrest figures.

One of the key questions being asked by many people in Toronto following the G20 – and which the above figures don’t address – is how many of those people were journalists. For many, the moments of conflict between police and journalists made for one of the more notable stories to emerge from the G20. That’s obviously due in no small part to the power that journalists have to choose what we talk about and how we talk about it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t worth discussing.

For more on that note, I’ll point you towards a story by Christie Blatchford of the Globe and Mail. I don’t always agree with everything Blatchford says, and I don’t assume that you’ll agree with everything she has to say in this particular story. Let’s call it an argument worthy of debate. It’s got to be said, however, that she’s one of Toronto’s most accomplished and tenacious journalists.

And given her reputation and professional experience, it’s no surprise that Blatchford should be the one to put this sort of story on the table. And the question of what constitutes a journalist – a question that’s harder and harder to answer in the age of blogs and camera phones and self-celebrity – is one that deserves an answer. You can probably guess what sort of answer a veteran accredited journalist writing for a potentially doomed medium would give you, but that doesn’t and shouldn’t detract from the discussion itself.

She also points out that a grand total of one person was arrested under the controversial “five metre” regulation. But that point in itself is also arguably nothing more than the foundation of “an intellectual exercise.”

By the way, speaking of Blatchford, if you want to learn a little more about a few of the people who were charged with more serious offences, there’s also apparently this.

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