Akwasi Owusu-Bempah
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E-mail:
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Mailing Address:
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga ON L5L 1C6
Canada
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah B.A. (Carleton), M.A., Ph.D. (Toronto), is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto and governing board chair at Massey College. He holds affiliate scientist status at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Owusu-Bempah’s work examines the intersections of race, crime and criminal justice. His current research spans across criminal justice institutions. He is also studying various aspects of drug legalization in Canada and around the world. Dr. Owusu-Bempah publishes regularly in both academic and popular forums.
Dr. Owusu-Bempah began his academic career in the United States at Indiana University, Bloomington. Prior to becoming a professor, he held positions with Canada’s National Judicial Institute, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General. Dr. Owusu-Bempah is frequently sought out to provide commentary and advice to police agencies, government bodies, community organizations, and media outlets on matters relating to policing, justice, and social inequality.
Publications
Selected Publications (since 2020)
Peer-Reviewed Books
Burchill, J., Jochelson, R., Owusu-Bempah, A., & Skolnik, T. (2024). Ancillary Police Powers in Canada: A Critical Reassessment. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Owusu-Bempah, A., & Rehmatullah, T. (2023). Waiting to Inhale: Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Owusu-Bempah, A., & Gabbidon, S. (2020). Race, Ethnicity, Crime, and Justice: An International Dilemma. New York: Routledge.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Gabbidon, S. L., Jordan, K. L., & Owusu-Bempah, A. (2025). Shopping Under Suspicion in Canada: Results From a Nationwide Victimization Survey on Consumer Racial Profiling. Race and Justice, 21533687251341274.
Owusu-Bempah, A., Lamberti, N., Croxford, R., Osei, B., Butler, A., Martin, E.L., … & Kouyoumdjian, F. (2025). COVID-19 impacts on decarceration for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people in Ontario, Canada: an interrupted time series study. The Lancet Regional Health Americas, 45.
Werb, D., Sung, H. S., Na, Y., Rammohan, I., Eeuwes, J., Smoke, A., Owusu-Bempah, A., Kerr, T. & Karamouzian, M. (2025). Investigating the spatial association between supervised consumption services and homicide rates in Toronto, Canada, 2010–2023: an ecological analysis. The Lancet Regional Health Americas, 43.
Birdi, S., Rabet, R., Durant, S., Patel, A., Vosoughi, T., Shergill, M., ... & Pinto, A. D. (2024). Bias in machine learning applications to address non-communicable diseases at a population-level: a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 3599.
Owusu-Bempah, A., Wallace, D., Gaston, S., Eason, J., & Sevell, E. (2024). Assessing the Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization on Racial Disparities in Chicago’s Cannabis Possession Arrests. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 10(2), 211-227.
Fataar, F., Driezen, P., Owusu-Bempah, A., & Hammond, D. (2024). Distribution of legal retail cannabis stores in Canada by neighbourhood deprivation. Journal of Cannabis Research, 6(1), 5.
Birdi, S., Rabet, R., Durant, S., Patel, A., Vosoughi, T., Shergill, M., ... & Pinto, A. D. (2024). Bias in machine learning applications to address non-communicable diseases at a population-level: a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 3599.
Fatarr, F., Driezen, P., Owusu-Bempah, A., Hammond, D. (2023). Cannabis-related arrests and convictions in Canada: Differences by race/ethnicity, individual socioeconomic factors and neighborhood deprivation. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse.
Owusu-Bempah, A., Nicholson Jr, H. L., Butler, A., Croxford, R., & Kouyoumdjian, F. G. (2023). Opioid toxicity deaths in black persons who experienced provincial incarceration in Ontario, Canada 2015–2020: A population-based study. Preventive Medicine, 107778.
Owusu-Bempah, A., Jung, M., Sbaï, F., Wilton, A. S., & Kouyoumdjian, F. (2023). Race and incarceration: The representation and characteristics of Black people in provincial correctional facilities in Ontario, Canada. Race and Justice, 13(4), 530-542.
Butler, A., Croxford, R., Bodkin, C., Akbari, H., Bayoumi, A. M., Bondy, S. J., Guenter, D., McLeod, K., Gomes, T., Kanagalingam, T., Kiefer, L., Orkin, A., Owusu-Bempah, A. & Kouyoumdjian, F. (2023). Burden of opioid toxicity death in the fentanyl-dominant era for people who experience incarceration in Ontario, Canada, 2015–2020: a whole population retrospective cohort study. BMJ open, 13(5), e071867.
Fataar, F., Driezen, P., Owusu‐Bempah, A., & Hammond, D. (2023). Patterns of problematic cannabis use in Canada pre‐and post‐legalisation: Differences by neighbourhood deprivation, individual socioeconomic factors and race/ethnicity. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(6), 1534-1546.
Seabrook, M.S., Luscombe, A., Balian, N., Lofters, A., Matheson, F.I., O’neill, B.G., Owusu-Bempah, A., Persaud, N., & Pinto, A.D. (2023). Police Funding and Crime Rates in 20 of Canada's Largest Municipalities: A Longitudinal Study. Canadian Public Policy, 49(4), 383-398.
Wiese, J., Watson, T.M., Owusu-Bempah, A., Hyshka E., Elton Marshall, T., Robinson, M., Wells, S., & Rueda, S. (2023). Over-policed and underrepresented: Perspectives on cannabis legalization from members of racialized communities in Canada. Contemporary Drug Problems, 50(1), 25-45.
Wortley, S., & Owusu-Bempah, A. (2022). Race, police stops, and perceptions of anti-Black police discrimination in Toronto, Canada over a quarter century. Policing: An International Journal, 45(4), 570-585.
Owusu-Bempah, A. (2021). Where is the Fairness in Canadian Cannabis Legalization? Journal of Canadian Studies, 55(2), 395-418.
Cantor N., Kingsbury M., Hamilton, H.A., Wild, T.C., Owusu-Bempah, A., & Colman I. (2021). Correlates of driving after cannabis use in high school students. Preventive Medicine, 150, 106667
Owusu-Bempah, A., & Luscombe, A. (2021). Race, Cannabis and the Canadian War on Drugs: An Examination of Cannabis Arrest Data by Race in Five Cities. International Journal of Drug Policy, 91, 102937.
Research Reports
Owusu-Bempah, A., Luscombe, A., & Maurach, C. (2025). Police Governance and Human Rights: A Policy Review for the Peel Police Service Board. Available: https://www.peelpoliceboard.ca/media/smsa53iu/full-report.pdf.
Owusu-Bempah, A. & Jones, Z. (2024). A Blueprint for Transformative Change: Canada’s Black Justice Strategy. Ottawa: Department of Justice.
Maghsoudi, N., Owusu-Bempah, A., Werb, D. (2023). A Roadmap for Cannabis Equity in Canada to Inform the Legislated Review of the Cannabis Act. Toronto: Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation
Owusu-Bempah, A., Luscombe, A., & Thompson, D. (2022). Benchmarking Scan of Race Equity Frameworks. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Owusu-Bempah, A., & the Mental Health Commission of Canada. (2021). Amplifying Black experiences in cannabis and mental health research: Virtual dialogue series. Ottawa, Canada: Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Owusu-Bempah, A., Wortley, S., Shlapak, R., & Lake, N. (2021). The Impact of Cannabis Legalization on Youth Contact with the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Report prepared for the Canadian Centre on Substance Use. Ottawa: CCSA.
Owusu-Bempah, A., & Wortley, S. (2021). Racial Equity Impact Assessment of the TTC Enforcement Unit. Interim report prepared for the Toronto Transit Commission.
Owusu-Bempah, A., & Jeffers, S. (2021). An Exploration of the Challenges Facing Black Youth Who Have Been in Contact with the Youth Criminal Justice System: Summary Report. Report prepared for the Department of Justice. Ottawa: Department of Justice.
Wortley, S., Owusu-Bempah, A., Laming, E., & Henry, C. (2021). Police Use of Force in Canada: A Review of Data, Expert Opinion, and the International Research Literature. A report funded by Public Safety Canada for the Canadian Criminal Justice Association. Ottawa: CCJA.
Wortley, S., Owusu-Bempah, A. & Lin, H. (2021). Race and Criminal Injustice: An examination of public perceptions of and experiences with the Ontario criminal justice system. Report Prepared for the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. Available: https://cabl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CABL-Report-Race-and-Criminal-Injustice-Feb-10-2021.pdf.