Toronto's deputy police chief says monitoring hate crimes a priority amid Israel-Hamas war
Tensions remain high for residents impacted by conflict in Middle East
Toronto's deputy police chief says the number of hate crimes in the city since the Israel-Hamas war began earlier this month is likely much higher than the 14 cases that have been reported so far.
Police revealed Thursday that hate crimes in the city have jumped by 132 per cent in nearly two weeks since the violence broke out. There have been 237 hate crime incidents reported in Toronto to date this year, up from 192 the same time last year.
Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue told CBC Radio's Metro Morning the cases that have been deemed hate crimes range from acts of mischief, people uttering threats, or harassing members of specific communities.
These incidents are "very hurtful to the community and are definitely under-reported," said Pogue.
Her remarks come as tensions remain high in Toronto and near-daily protests see officers closing intersections to provide crowd control. Police have also stepped up patrols in specific communities and outside of religious sites.
"We haven't had any outright acts of violence at this time, but certainly that's always a concern. We've responded with a heightened sense of readiness and we've got additional patrols across the entire city."
Police say they can't immediately lay charges in hate-motivated incidents because the investigations require the consent of Ontario's attorney general. But they have many investigations that are ongoing, she said.
Toronto police are following world events and constantly assessing "the threat to Toronto" to determine the resources needed to be deployed, says Pogue.
Police say they have set up two command posts in the city to increase their visibility and improve the public's access to officers to report potential hate-related crimes. Pogue says the command posts will remain in the community as long as necessary.
"We've been doing a tremendous amount of outreach to faith leaders and to leaders in the community to really just listen to what they need and what they expect of us."
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw says he's met with members of the Palestinian and Jewish communities over their safety concerns.
"I've heard directly that they are not only concerned for their family and friends living in the conflicted regions but they are also fearful for their own safety right here in our city."