Swastika graffiti the most common hate crime

Young generation may not understand symbol’s significance

GRAFFITIED SWASTIKAS are the most common form of hate-related crime in Hamilton.

Yet, most of them are likely created by youth who don’t fully understand the powerful significance of the hate symbol.

The majority of the 20 swastikas investigated by Hamilton police last year were probably made by young people who drew them because they were easy and provocative rather than because the culprits are antiSemitic, says Det. Paul Corrigan, head of the service’s hate crime unit.

But that, of course, doesn’t make it OK to spray paint swastikas on park benches or school walls. Doing so is a crime, and the impact on the community can be devastating.

A couple of years ago, Corrigan was called to examine a swastika painted on the side of a business in Westdale. An elderly gentleman ap-

proached him.

“There were tears in his eyes,” Corrigan recalls. “His family members were killed in the Holocaust.”

That story resonates deeply with Rabbi Daniel Green of Adas Israel Congregation.

“We still have survivors of the Holocaust in our midst in Hamilton. And the pain is indescribable for many people.”

Here’s where police investigated swastikas last year: two at synagogues; two at McMaster University; one on a vehicle; two on apartment buildings; five at elementary schools; three in parks; two on real estate signs; two on storefronts.

And one inside a cell. A prisoner being held in the cells at the John Sopinka Courthouse etched a swastika onto the wall while cameras recorded it. He pleaded guilty to mischief under $5,000, the only conviction in relation to a swastika last year.

Of those 20 swastikas, Corrigan says eight were done “correctly.” The rest were meant to be swastikas, but weren’t quite accurate.

That is significant for Corrigan. In his experience, the incorrect swastikas are usually drawn by young people who don’t really know what it means and don’t understand the impact their graffiti can have on the community.

“It’s an easy symbol to draw,” he says.

Two of the eight correct swastikas appeared on synagogues.

Green, however, finds it difficult to believe that anyone — even a young person — doesn’t have a basic understanding of what the swastika represents. At the least they know it is a symbol of hatred, even if they don’t realize it ultimately means genocide.

“Holocaust education is a critical initiative,” he says. “Including education about the consequences of hate. We need to be very vigilant … This is one of the most widespread symbols, worldwide, of hatred.”

At last week’s meeting of the Hamilton Police Services Board, Corrigan presented the 2017 year-end report on hate crime in the city.

In the Criminal Code of Canada, hate crimes are separated into two distinct categories. The Hate Propaganda section includes advocating genocide, public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred. Then there are any other criminal offences where evidence supports a hate/bias motivation.

Last year 136 hate/bias events were reported to Hamilton police. Of those, five were considered crimes motivated solely or in part because of a bias or prejudice.

Others were categorized as hate/bias motivated incidents because they cannot be proven to have been motivated by the person’s bias or prejudice towards the victim, but include some type of prejudicial overtone.

The rest are considered incidents, including events at a place of worship, a private home or business belonging to a member of an identifiable group, and where the motivation is ambiguous and there is nothing to suggest it occurred due to a hate or bias.

The most-targeted group in 2017 was the black community, and the second most prevalent form of hate incident is racial slurs targeting members of the black community, according to Corrigan.

Police have a protocol for investigating graffiti that is political, hateful or gang-related, says Corrigan. In those cases a sergeant must attend the scene and the forensics unit takes pictures. The graffiti will be removed within 24 hours.

“Good people will often erase the graffiti and not call police,” says Corrigan. But it is important to phone police — not as a 911 call, however — and allow officers to take their own evidence photos.

The number of hate events in the city is up 18.26 per cent from 2016, but Corrigan attributes that to the outreach police have been doing in the community, encouraging targeted groups to report hate incidents.

‘‘ Holocaust education is a critical initiative, including education about the consequences of hate. We need to be very vigilant.

RABBI DANIEL GREEN Adas Israel Congregation