Hate crime investigations more than doubled
A Niagara Regional Police report showing hate crime investigations more than doubled throughout the region in 2021 is welcome news to Saleh Waziruddin.
“If people can get away with it, they think they can do it again,” said Waziruddin, chair of Niagara Region Anti-racism Association. “If they face charges maybe they will stop. There’s no justice if people can get away with it and just keep doing it without any consequences.”
According to the NRP’S recently released annual report on hate crimes, 21 investigations were conducted in 2021, compared to 10 in 2020 and 11 in 2019.
The report listed several incidents of swastikas or racial slurs marring private and public property, reports of vandalism — such rocks and eggs thrown through a window in Welland with an ANTI-LGBTQ note attached — as well as Pride flags ripped down and stolen, and several threats and assaults coupled with racial slurs.
The report, presented at last Thursday’s police services board meeting, said 15 criminal charges were laid related to the 21 incidents, although only one met the Criminal Code threshold to be classified as a hate crime.
The hate crime charge — it was related to an incident when alleged threats were made against a Black individual in St. Catharines on Feb. 22, 2021 — was laid after consulting with the senior Crown attorney. The incident was “online-based and involved threatening and racialized comments repeatedly targeting an identified group,” the report said.
Waziruddin called it positive that police laid a hate crime charge, at least in one case. However, he said he’d like to see far more charges laid in the region.
“I think the prosecutors need to be more aggressive in trying for hate crime charges. Even if they don’t think it’s 100 per cent going to be a conviction, I think they need to push the standards and try to get convictions even with a lower standard of evidence.”
Waziruddin attributed the increase in hate crime investigations this year to greater awareness and reporting, as well as the implementation of the NRP’S equity diversity and inclusion unit, which actively follows up on reports of hate-motivated crimes.
However, he said there are likely many more instances of hate crimes that are never reported.
The annual report said mandatory equity and diversity training was implemented for officers last year.
Although about half the incidents cited in the report occurred in St. Catharines, Waziruddin said he’s “pretty sure there are more happening in some of the other municipalities that only have one or two incidents reported.”
He said the larger number of instances in St. Catharines is likely due to increased awareness in the city as a result of the work of antiracism groups.
“Sometimes people don’t even realize it’s a crime that should be reported to the police, even for nonhate crimes such as assaults that may be associated with a hate crime,” he said.
Waziruddin said about half the crimes were against members of the LGBTQ community, while about one-quarter of the investigations were about antisemitism, “and that’s pretty significant.”