Saskatoon police lay charge in hate, bias-motivated offence

Saskatoon police said a 32-year-old woman has been charged with a hate/bias-motivated offence following an investigation by the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) Hate Crime Unit.

Police said at approximately 1:40 p.m., last Monday, a 23-year-old woman reported being confronted by an unknown woman while at a library in the 200 block of Avenue K South.

The 32-year-old began chasing the younger woman while using racial slurs.  The suspect then left the scene.

Police said the 32-year-old is facing one count of common assault.

SPS adds the woman identified as part of the investigation was then located last Wednesday in the 1100 block of 20^th Street West.

In an effort to increase awareness around hate-motivated crime and to improve access to reporting related incidents, the SPS has created a web page on the topic and added to its online reporting function, which residents can visit for more information.

The SPS Hate Crime Unit was created in January of this year and is part of the Interpersonal Conflict Section. It is designed to provide support to front-line officers and other investigative units.

The unit monitors hate-motivated crime for the purpose of aiding and identifying crimes and criminals and to assist with sentencing at the end of the judicial process.

SPS said this is important because Section 718 of the Criminal Code of Canada allows for increased sentences to be considered where there is evidence that a hate-motivated crime has been committed.

Police said the woman was only charged with common assault because investigators determined evidence to suggest a threat of physical violence existed, and there is currently no hate crime-specific charge under the Criminal Code.