LPS responds to province banning carding

The UCP announced today that effective immediately the province is banning carding and establishing clear rules for interactions between police and the public. These changes will ban police in Alberta from randomly stopping members of the public asking for personal information, which is also known as carding.

The province is moving swiftly in response to concerns that carding and street checks unfairly target members of racial and marginalized communities. Lethbridge Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh commented on the carding ban.

“If there has been problems in the past, obviously it’s not going to be the way of the future for (the) Lethbridge Police Service. As an immigrant myself and somebody who came to this country I see the value of making sure every citizen gets the respect they deserve,” says Mehdizadeh.

The province states that police services will now be required to train officers to comply with the new rules. They must also provide public education to help ensure that citizens know their rights when interacting with the police.