Hate crimes on the rise in Montreal, police report

MONTR EA L For the Dorval Mosque’s congregation, caution is a constant, according to its imam, Mehmet Deger.

“It’s very difficult to predict what’s going to happen,” he said, referring to hate crimes.

The Dorval Mosque has been the target of hate crimes — including broken windows and anti-Islamic propaganda stickers — nine times in the last 10 years.

In response, the mosque set up a volunteer night patrol in 2008, made up of members of its congregation who drive around the mosque at night to prevent vandalism. The mosque also has six security cameras and recently installed expensive steel doors. “Usually, they attack at night,” Deger said.

The Islamic Community Centre of the South Shore, in Brossard, plans to update its security system to help prevent hate crimes, but money is tight, according to Imam Foudil Selmoune. New, better quality security cameras are first on the list.

When violent events of international significance happen, like the London Bridge bus attack, Montreal police see an increase in reports of hate crimes to their offices, according to police spokesperson and commander Carolyn Cournoyer.

The number of reported hate crimes in Montreal has risen significantly every year since 2013, Cournoyer said.

In 2013, there were 81 incidents classified as hate crimes reported to Montreal police. In 2016, that number had risen to 137.

In 2017, the trend continues. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had 92 hate crimes report- ed,” Cournoyer said on June 27. Fifty-four of these were toward a religion, 22 were related to race or ethnicity and the rest were against gender, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or language.

After the shooting at Quebec City’s Islamic Cultural Centre, which killed six people, the number of reported incidents rose drastically.

“It’s sure that (the shooting) had an impact on the sense of security and on citizens,” Cournoyer said, adding that attacks often make people more likely to speak up about other hate crimes and seek protection.

In the first month of 2017 alone, 40 reports of hate crimes were filed in Montreal — nearly half the total number for the entire year in 2013.

Often, these reports involve hateful messages sent on Facebook or other social media platforms, Cournoyer said. People comment on what is happening in reality by hiding behind a screen which, according to Cournoyer, can encourage them to be more vocal and blunt about their opinions.

When a community feels a sense of insecurity and reports a hate crime, the standard response from police is to visit of the location where the crime was committed to assess security.

“We work with them to see if there’s a camera system that could be installed,” Cournoyer said. “Then, we’ll check that the locks are adequate; we’ll see what can be done.” The local police station is also notified, and told to keep a closer eye on the location.

But Deger said the Dorval Mosque’s local police station is very busy. “I don’t know, it seems like they don’t have enough police cars around,” he said.