UPDATE: On Sept. 12, 2023, the RCMP announced that the online portal for reporting hate incidents had become available. To report a hate crime through the portal, the RCMP said people can visit their website or use the RCMP app. Hate incidents can also still be reported in person or through the non-emergency line.
Edmontonians will soon have an online portal through which they can report hate incidents to the Edmonton police.
The Hate Crime and Violent Extremism Unit of the Edmonton Police Service announced Monday it is expanding online crime reporting to include hate incidents. This will allow people who don’t feel comfortable reporting hate crimes over the phone or in-person to police a safe space to do so.
“People can also report on behalf of someone else, which will further assist those who may not feel comfortable, or who may require assistance to report an incident,” police said in a news release.
Acting inspector Michelle Greening went on to say, “We know that hate incidents often go unreported for a number of reasons. In some cases, victims don’t realize that what has happened to them is reportable to police, even if it wasn’t a crime.
“As members of marginalized communities, victims may also be reluctant to come forward due to negative experiences with police. We hear those concerns, we are working to remedy them, and we want to make reporting as easy as possible for anyone who has experienced hate.”
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According to EPS, a hate incident “is a non-criminal action committed against a person or property, motivated in whole or in part by the suspect’s hate, bias or prejudice towards an identifiable group, defined by real or perceived colour, race religion, national or ethnic origin, age sex, sexual identity, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor.”
While these types of hate incidents are not criminally chargeable under the criminal code, the information gathered from reports gives local police insightful information about activities and hateful behaviour around the city and provides opportunities for intervention.
On the other hand, a hate crime is a criminal offence that includes direct threats of violence, graffiti, distribution of hate literature and destruction of religious property or symbols.
The number of reported hate crimes and incidents both decreased between 2021 and 2022, according to EPS. To date in 2023, there have been 13 reported hate crimes and 19 reported hate incidents, police said.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Greening said hate incidents can have the same or similar effects on victims as hate crimes, including anxiety, isolation, stress, distress, feeling unsafe or loss of freedom. These can lead to people conforming through dress, changing behaviour, avoiding certain places and concealing their identity, she added.
As for hate crimes, Greening said police still need people to report those incidents to police while they work to overcome barriers. The online reporting for hate incidents also allows police to determine whether reported incidents are in fact incidents, or whether they are crimes and need to be followed up on.
“I’m recognizing that we’re doing other things to help overcome some of those barriers with reporting of hate crime but we need people to come forward because of evidence or things like that that are timely and require response of the police,” she said.
Stephen Camp, Alberta Hate Crimes Committee police liaison, said there’s a “disproportionate effect that ripples into the community” when it comes to hate crime.
“There was constant demand from the community for these incidents to be taken seriously,” he said.
“Hate incidents could include people that are discussing things like this, moving forward to, not just discussion on hate — racial slurs being said, comments being made toward minority communities that are derogatory – but that might move into (hate crimes) towards these communities.
“These communities that suffer daily from harm, from racism and homophobia and (religious hate) deserve some kind of response from their police services.”
This type of reporting system is “long overdue,” said Dr. Kristopher Wells, Canada research chair for the public understanding of sexual and gender minority youth.
Wells, who is also an associate professor at MacEwan University in Edmonton, reiterated Greening’s statements that the online reporting system will allow vulnerable populations who are being targeted for hate to feel more comfortable about coming forward with their experiences.
“I think it removes a barrier and provides more flexibility and convenience, so hopefully that will also increase reporting,” he said.
But this is not a problem that Edmonton police can solve on their own, Wells said, suggesting the federal government introduce new legislation to make hate crimes easier to prosecute.
“What’s in the Criminal Code was written a long time ago without the advent of these new technologies and social media platforms, and many of the social media platforms themselves have removed mechanisms that could combat hate online.”
He said online hate, especially on social media, is so rapid that if everyone reported every hateful experience, police would have to hire thousands of new officers just to deal with those reports.
While there are growing numbers of incidents that can be reported, Wells said it is important to report them so that police have a record and can begin to identify the sources.
“It’s a fine line from a hate incident to behaviour that turns into hate crime … It’s all part of a complex web so the more information the police have, the more you’re able to piece together different parts of the puzzle and hopefully prevent hate crimes from actually happening. That’s always the goal.”
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