HerStory: BLACK WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN CANADIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT

摘要

AS I SIT DOWN to write this book review of Sgt. Craig Marshall Smith's most recent book, events that started in the United States with the killing of George Floyd, and subsequently have unfolded in Canada and the rest of the world, have put a spotlight on the relationship of police and those from racialized and Indigenous backgrounds. It is an interesting coincidence that this book, entitled HerStory, depicts the path of Black women entering the policing sphere mostly in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - but a few other police services are included as well. Sgt. Craig Smith has courageously tackled this trajectory by chronicling the experiences of pioneering Black women as they ventured where others had not been before them. While the book mainly focuses on Black female police officers, the author takes the time to document the experiences of some Black women who served in other capacities, either as civilians and public servants within the RCMP or in the community working with the Force.