Race and Contact at Play: Understanding Blacks’ Experiences and Perceptions with Law Enforcement

Over decades, the relationship between law enforcement and Black individuals in Canada has remained strained, raising concerns about police legitimacy, fairness and trustworthiness. A long-standing history of systemic racial discrimination, marked by police brutality and racial profiling, has disproportionately targeted Black communities, leaving deep social scars that continue to fuel mistrust and skepticism toward law enforcement institutions. This study investigates the experiences and perceptions of Black Immigrants and Black Canadians in Saskatoon and focuses on their interactions with the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS). Using qualitative methodology and drawing on interviews with 34 participants, the research is framed by critical race theory, symbolic interactionism, and police legitimacy theory. The findings indicate that Black immigrants internalize police brutality and aggression in portrayed media reports as symbolic cues that generate fear, anxiety, and a strategic avoidance of police contact. In contrast, Black Canadians’ negative perceptions of SPS are influenced by intergenerational knowledge and familial narratives. These shared accounts carry important symbolic weight such that positive interactions with SPS failed to rebuild trust and restore confidence. The study concludes that dual perception of justice coupled with police shadowing, a pretextual form of surveillance and targeting of Black individuals under the guise of neutral routine enforcement, contributes to racial and ethnic bias policing dynamics in the city.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

University of Saskatchewan

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Barnes, Ebenezer

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kang, Timothy

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Cheng, Hongming
• Jewel, Lisa
• Adorjan, Michael

• Race, Policing, Immigration and Legitimacy

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10388/17801

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/17801