Over-policed & under-protected: Recommendations to improve the relationship between unhoused Indigenous women and the RCMP in Yellowknife

Jasmine Irwin and Jasmine Lee from Springboard Policy worked with the Yellowknife Women’s Society and Neesha Rao on a report on the broken relationship between unhoused Indigenous women in Yellowknife and the RCMP.

The stories that we heard fall within a documented pattern of how unhoused Indigenous women come into contact with the RCMP in Yellowknife, across the Northwest Territories, and throughout Canada:

Unhoused Indigenous women are over-policed by the RCMP. This over-policing is in part caused by inadequate social services like housing and health, which drive crises and result in more police contact with unhoused Indigenous women. A high ratio of police officer per community member in Yellowknife, the visibility of being unhoused, and systemic discrimination towards Indigenous people also drive more frequent police interactions. The over-policing of Indigenous women increases their risk of experiencing harm at the hands of police and contributes to their higher rates of criminalization and incarceration.

Unhoused Indigenous women are under-protected by the RCMP. Their stories are less likely to be believed and their concerns are less likely to be taken seriously. Some Indigenous women do not reach out for help from law enforcement when they need it because of prior experiences of being dismissed or failed by police. These patterns make it harder to effectively address the significant rates of victimization and violence against unhoused Indigenous women in the Northwest Territories.

Many of the challenges in RCMP community policing — systemic racism and sexism, capacity shortfalls, poor integration with local communities, lack of institutional accountability — are not unique to Yellowknife. However, these problems are particularly ingrained, damaging, and complex in Yellowknife.