Province puts up $150K to improve reporting of hate-motivated incidents in London
Funding comes amid local, national rise in hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents
The province has earmarked $150,000 for London Police toward the development of a dedicated online platform for members of the public to report hate crimes and incidents.
The move is being praised by some local Jewish and Muslim groups, who say such a platform would make it easier for Londoners to report and access supports, and allow non-criminal hate incidents to be tracked.
The funding comes as part of a larger $3-million grant program from the province aimed at helping victims and survivors of hate crimes and other offences across Ontario.
Local organizations, including those representing Jewish, Muslim and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, are working with police on the platform, which should be ready by the end of 2025 or early 2026, said Insp. Pete Testa of London Police.
"There's a few benefits, first and foremost, reducing the need to travel downtown and make a report. Not everybody's comfortable attending the police station," Testa said.
Residents will be able to report both hate crimes and non-criminal hate incidents, hopefully yielding a more complete picture of the hate occurrences happening in London, he said.
"Even if it's just a hate incident, and doesn't meet the threshold of a crime, we still understand that people are victimized by hate incidents," Testa said.
"We want people within our community to feel safe, and we want them to be willing to be proud of their culture, of where they come from, of their religion."
Nationwide, Canadian police forces have seen a stunning rise in reported hate crimes — from 2,646 in 2020 to 4,777 in 2023. Preliminary data for 2024 shows the number hovering above 4,700. Many victims may not have come forward.
Hate crimes targeting the Jewish community shot up between 2022 and 2023, from 527 to 900, making up 70 per cent of all religion-motivated hate crimes. Hate crimes against Muslims also rose from 109 in 2022 to 211 in 2023.
"We've been in support of it. We've written letters in support for Chief Thai Truong to be able to get this approved," said Dean Lavi, executive director of London Jewish Federation (LJF).
LJF was contacted by police in November about the planned platform, and is working with the department's IT team and providing feedback, Lavi said. Outreach work is still being done to connect with more local organizations and communities, police said.
"With hate crimes against the Jewish community way up and increasing in Canada … this is something that's absolutely necessary," Lavi said.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, many Canadian Jewish day schools and synagogues have increased security. Synagogues have also been firebombed and vandalized, and one Jewish girls school in Toronto was shot at three times.
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"There is a level of fear and a feeling of unsafety and a worry for the future of Jewish generations in Canada that has not been seen in my lifetime," Lavi said.
Locally, the number of hate or bias-motivated occurrences, including hate crimes and non-criminal incidents, has risen steadily from 61 in 2019 to 192 in 2023, the latest data available.
Occurrences targeting the Muslim community rose from eight in 2022 to 29 in 2023, a 263 per cent jump, while occurrences involving the Jewish community rose 24 per cent, from 21 to 26, police said.
London-based Hikma Public Affairs Council has asked London police and the province to dedicate resources to the issue for several years, and is happy to see some movement, said council spokesperson Nawaz Tahir.
"One of the things we've heard from our community is almost a fear in reporting hate-motivated incidents," Tahir said. The perception is that no action comes when reports are made, and that it can sometimes feel like victims are being re-victimized, he said.
Last year, a 55-year-old London man was charged by way of warrant after an alleged hate-motivated arson targeting a local Muslim family. No arrest has been announced. Months later, a Muslim man was assaulted while at a park with his family.
Hikma has been in regular communication with police about the shortcomings around reporting hate incidents, he said.
The funding announcement was made by Rob Flack, PC MPP for Elgin—Middlesex—London and Ontario's minister of municipal affairs and housing. Flack was not available for comment.
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With files from Perlita Stroh and Jamie Strashin