NATIONAL POLICE REPORTING
On June 13th, 2017, Statistics Canada released Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2015. The highlights from its summary are as follows:
"In 2015, police reported 1,362 criminal incidents in Canada that were motivated by hate, marking an increase of 5% or 67 more incidents than were reported the previous year. The increase in the total number of incidents was largely attributable to an increase in police-reported hate crimes motivated by hatred of a religion (+40 incidents) or of a race or ethnicity (+30 incidents).
Between 2014 and 2015, the number of police-reported crimes motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity increased 5%. Much of this increase was a result of more hate crimes targeting Arab or West Asian populations (+33%). Although down in 2015, crimes targeting Black populations remained the most common type of hate crime related to race or ethnicity (17% of all hate crimes).
Overall, 48% of all police-reported hate crimes in 2015 were motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity.Police-reported crimes motivated by hate against the Muslim population rose 61% in 2015. That year, police-reported 159 incidents compared to 99 in 2014. Hate crimes against Catholics also increased from 35 to 55 incidents during the same period. In contrast, the number of crimes targeting the Jewish population declined from 213 to 178.
Hate crimes targeting Jewish populations accounted for 13% of all hate crimes followed closely by hate crimes targeting Muslim populations (12%). Overall, 35% of hate-motivated crimes reported in 2015 were motivated by hatred of religion. Police-reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation declined 9% in 2015, down from 155 incidents in 2014 to 141. These incidents accounted for 11% of hate crimes reported in 2015.
Based on police services able to report characteristics of hate crimes, in 2015, 38% of police-reported hate crimes were violent offences. Violent offences included offences such as assault, uttering threats and criminal harassment. Overall, the number of violent hate crimes increased 15% from the previous year, driven by increases in common assault and uttering threats.Police-reported hate crimes targeting a sexual orientation had the highest percentage of violent crimes in 2015 (59%). In comparison, violent crimes accounted for 45% of hate crimes targeting a race or ethnicity and 24% targeting religion.
Non-violent offences made up 62% of police-reported hate crimes in 2015. Mischief, which includes vandalism and graffiti, was the most commonly reported offence among police-reported hate crimes and accounted for 44% of all hate crime incidents in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, the total number of non-violent hate crime incidents increased by 5%.In 2015, non-violent police-reported hate crimes accounted for 76% of crimes targeting a religion, 55% of crimes targeting a race or ethnicity and 41% of crimes targeting a sexual orientation".
In June of 2017, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies reached out to police services across Canada, asking them for their most current hate crime statistics. Results are listed below.
Barrie Police Service:
Number of hate crimes: 7
Type of hate crime(s):
· 2 incidents based on race
· 3 incidents based on religion
· 2 incidents based on sexual orientation
Expression of hate crime(s):
· 4 incidents of graffiti
· 3 incidents of slurs coupled with violence
Current pattern:
· The numbers for 2017 seem to be up this year (6 already); however, this may be due to increased officer awareness and that our reporting template has changed so officers can classify the incident as a hate crime rather than as a true increase within the city.
Cobourg Police Service:
Number of hate crimes: 1
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic
Expression of hate crime(s):
· swastika draw in the dust of a
vehicle
Current pattern:
· Very few hate crimes therefore
unable to determine a pattern
Edmonton Police Service:
Number of hate crimes: 12
Type of hate crime(s):
o
3
Anti-Black
o
2 Anti-E. Asian
o
2 Anti-Muslim
o
2 Anti-Arab
o
1 Anti-Asian
o
1 Anti-LGBTQ
o
1 Anti-Jewish
Expression of hate crime(s):
·
5 Other Mischief
·
3 Assault
·
2 Mischief to Religious Property
·
1 Uttering Threats
·
1 Criminal Harassment
Current pattern:
·
In 2017 to date, we have received
reports of 12 Hate Crimes. This represents a reduction in hate crimes from
2016, although when hate incidents are included for both years, 2017 is
approximately consistent with 2016. I believe that this reduction in crimes so
far in 2017, is seasonal, as we have not yet entered summer, where we typically
encounter a greater volume of events.
·
My general analysis of trends in
the City of Edmonton from 2016 and continuing into 2017 are as follows.
o Anti-immigration sentiment with a focus on Islam. Negative references to
Syrian refugees in Canada and Europe are common, inflamed by international
Islamic terrorist events (France/ISIL) and the Parliamentary motion
M-103.
o A rise of populist extreme right wing groups (SOO, Canadian Sentinels,
Guardians of Alberta, etc.).
o General anti-immigration sentiment targeting other non-white communities.
·
Anti-LGBTQ sentiment inflamed by current
government policies and advocacy for GSA’S in public schools, and changes to
bathroom access gender policies
Kawartha Lakes Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 1
Type of hate crime(s): Sexual Orientation
Expression of hate crime(s): harassment
Kingston Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 2
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic, racist
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Assault
· Criminal harassment
Current pattern:
· No one specific group was targeted more than any other group in Kingston with reported Hate Crime
LaSalle Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 2
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic, LGBTQ
Expression of hate crime(s):
· graffiti (swastika sprayed on
vehicle with the words "go home")
· verbal word (directed at apparent
gay male youth)
Current pattern:
· No real increase or decrease to the
number reported. (Average is between 2 to 3 per year) No pattern to a specific
group. The occurrences above were listed as "possible" Hate Crimes.
No occurrences that met definition.
Montreal Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 101 (between January 1and June 1, 2017)
Type of hate crime(s):
Niagara Regional Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 13
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic, anti-Black,
anti-Muslim, racist, Anti-LGBT, anti-Christian,
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Mischief to personal vehicle (Swastika
graffiti)
· Mischief to personal vehicle (Swastika
graffiti and punctured tire)
· Mischief to Catholic elementary school
(Swastika, LGBT, Jewish, Christian and Black graffiti)
· Mischief to Catholic Church (Graffiti
– Religious)
· Hate/bias phone message (Verbal LGBT
and Black taunts – Racial/LGBT)
· Mischief to Public Library (Swastika
and SS graffiti)
· Mischief to Christian school (LGBT
and anti-Christian graffiti)
· Hate/bias email (Muslim hate/bias
email)
· Assault (East Indian male assaulted
with verbal hate/bias)
· Harassment on social media (Black
male targeted on Facebook)
· Mischief to Anglican Church (Swastika
and Anarchy type graffiti)
· Verbal Taunts (Black hate/bias
taunts)
· Mischief to sidewalk (Swastika
graffiti drawn in chalk of public sidewalk)
Current pattern:
·
In
2016, there was no change in the total number of hate/bias reported incidents
as there were 13 reported incidents in 2015 as well.
Ontario Provincial Police
Number of hate crimes: 15
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic, anti-Muslim,
anti-Black, anti-Aboriginal, anti-Catholicism, sexual orientation
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Mischief to Religious Property
· Hate Bias Crime (Mischief; Harassment;
Threats)
· Hate Propaganda Crime (Jewish
religion, Catholic religion, Black.)
Current pattern:
· Due to the low number of reported
incidents, it is difficult to determine if there are any patterns regarding
targeted groups as it related to reporting of Hate Bias Crime, Hate Propaganda
Crime and Mischief to Religious Property. Accurate identification of
patterns related to targeted groups requires synthesizing information reported
in this document with reporting from the Province’s municipal and First Nations
police services.
Prince Albert Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 1
Type of hate crime(s): anti-Indigenous
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Inciting genocide
Current pattern:
· There had been a noted decrease over the past decade in overt racist activity, but that has changed in the last year and a half. As social media and online commentary has expanded more racist or hate type posts and commentary have become visible. Last year the provincial premier called for a stop to this kind of divisive action after a First Nations youth was shot and killed in what many felt was a racist act.
Saskatoon Police Service
Number of hate crimes: 2
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Graffiti (the word “rapist” was written on the husband’s vehicle and a swastika was drawn on the wife’s vehicle)
· Graffiti (graffiti of an anti-Semitic nature on a detached garage)
Vancouver Police Department
Number of hate crimes: 11
Type of hate crime(s): antisemitic, anti-Muslim, LGBTQ
Expression of hate crime(s):
· Mischief
· Assault
· Threats
· Harassment
· Suspicious circumstances
Current pattern:
· There has been a slight increase regarding the Muslim community over the past year
York Regional Police
Number of hate crimes: 86
Type of hate crime(s):
· race/ethnicity (51.2%)
-most frequent targeted groups: South Asian (14.0%), Black (9.3%), Arab/West Asian (7.0%), and East & Southeast Asian (7.0%)
· religion (38.4%)
-most frequent targeted groups: Jewish (20.0%) and Muslim (15.1%)
· sexual orientation (10.5%)
Current pattern:
· Hate crimes have decreased in the York Region to 86 incidents (or by 3.4%) in 2016 from 89
incidents in 2015.
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