 Topic: Rural hate crimes policing needs improve
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HappyWarrior
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| Posted: 06 December 2007 at 5:05pm | IP Logged
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Hate crimes in Alberta are treated differently by police in rural areas compared to urban centres, said a study released Dec 6, 2007.
The Edmonton and Calgary police forces have well-established hate crime units but the RCMP, which covers rural areas, has only one officer in that capacity for the entire province and that position is currently vacant, said the Alberta Hate Bias Crime Committee.
The committee, which includes the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police and the United Way, interviewed police and Crown prosecutors for its report.
Edmonton police Sgt. Steve Camp, committee co-chair, said the lack of police awareness about hate crime in rural areas can be devastating.
"What it does is pits the vulnerable community against law enforcement," Camp said. "If they don't understand what hate crime is and how to deal with it and how to train for it appropriately, there's feelings of distrust and all these things kind of spin off it."
The report said hate and bias crimes are a fact of life in the province and particularly affect aboriginals, people from ethnic and religious minorities, and gays and lesbians
Only about 10% of hate crimes are reported, said the report, which called on the province to introduce a provincial hate crime strategy.
"It is imperative for Alberta to develop a strategy addressing hate and bias crimes to make this province safe and secure for all its citizens," says the report, written by Cam Stewart, a retired Calgary police services officer.
Tim Chander, a spokesman for the solicitor general, praised the committee's work but said the report's recommendations have not been accepted.
Province says current initiatives adequate. "We believe that the current model involving the police is working. They do a great job investigating hate and bias crimes," Chander said, noting that the RCMP, Edmonton Police Service and Calgary Police Service have officers who investigate hate crimes.
He said the Alberta government is developing a computer database system to allow police forces to better share information about crimes, including hate crimes.
The report notes that British Columbia and Ontario have established hate crime investigation teams.
Combating Hate and Bias Crime and Incidents in Alberta is available http://www.kanataint.ca
Groups want Alberta to forge hate crime plan
Pablo Fernandez, Calgary Sun Dec 6, 2007
Hate crime in Alberta is too often being ignored, with possibly tragic consequences, said the authors of a report released today.
Combating Hate and Bias Crime and Incidents in Alberta shows police officers, Crown prosecutors and judges don’t understand what constitutes such offences, don’t know how to investigate them, or prosecute them.
And because such offences are going unchecked or not being punished fully, incidents are going unreported and victims are being left to their pain and fear, states the report by the Alberta Hate Bias Crime and Incidents Committee.
Findings show the province is doing a poor job at dealing with the problem, said committee co-chair Doug Jones.
The report confirmed, “our suspicions that there wasn’t a consistent, appropriate response for hate crime in Alberta and found that community, police and justice all need more information and training,” he said.
Provisions in the Criminal Code providing for harsher punishments for the crimes are often overlooked, states the document.
The report called on several provincial departments to come together and create a hate crime team, advisory committee and public awareness campaign.
Intolerance, hate and the authorities’ inability to deal with the problem is a systematic problem affecting the entire country, said provincial human rights commissioner Diane Colley-Urquhart.
“It’s an important report but it’s only good if we act on it today,” she said, encouraging victims to come forward and report hate crimes. “We will deal with it and deal with it swiftly.”
The problem is many hate crime victims have been victimized a second time by a system not willing to come to their aid, said report author Cam Stewart.
“Hate crime in Alberta is where domestic violence was 10 years ago,” he said. “It’s largely ignored, not taken seriously and authorities don’t know how to deal with it. “Inevitably, victims are being re-victimized by the system.”
Only 10% of hate crimes in Alberta — which lags behind B.C. and Ontario when dealing with the problem — are reported, said Stewart.
And these crimes are starting to tear at the fabric of our culture, said Stewart. “We put all this data together so that when a tragedy happens they won’t be able to say, ‘‘we didn’t know,’” he said.
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aManOnaJourney
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| Posted: 02 December 2009 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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Nov 10, 2009
Alberta Hate Crimes Committee Releases
Annual Hate Crimes Report for 2008
"The
report explores the incidence of hate crime in communities across
Alberta as well as some of the definitional and data collection issues
that impact our ability to understand the scope and nature of hate and
bias crime and activity in our province."
Alberta Hate/Bias Crime Report 2008 finds vast disparities evident in how hate is reported and responded to in Alberta, collaborative and coordinated action is urgently needed.
Alberta Hate/Bias Crime Report 2008 provides base-line hate crime data, including statistics. The purpose of the report is to develop a mechanism to encourage standardized data collection and reporting on these types of socially divisive crimes, to raise awareness of their prevalence in the community and among policing agencies, and to establish a process to provide annual updates and, over time, trend analysis.
Recommendations:
Establish a Collaborative and Coordinated Network to Address Hate
There is a clear and pressing need to establish a provincially coordinated strategy to assist in complex investigations, develop critical partnerships, and share time-sensitive information between communities, policing agencies, and justice officials. This provincial strategy is also needed to ensure
hate crimes are reported, responded to appropriately, and recorded to establish trend data.
For example, the 2008 statistics identify how the RCMP recorded 5 hate incidents or crimes for all of Alberta, the Calgary Police Service recorded 68 hate crimes for Calgary, and the Edmonton Police Service recorded 155 hate related incidents/crimes in Edmonton. These differences are due in large part to differing operational definitions of what constitutes a hate crime.
Improve Education and Training
Partnerships are required to ensure members of the public, policing, and justice agencies have the education, training, and tools they need to recognize and respond to hate crime and incidents in our communities. For example, the 2008 Report identifies how there have only been two successful prosecutions of hate crimes in the past two years. This lack of response is largely due to Crown prosecutors who identify feeling under-prepared and under-resourced to deal with the complexity of hate crime investigations and prosecutions. An absence in prosecutions leaves communities vulnerable and instills suspicion and a lack of trust in the justice system.
Amend the Criminal Code of Canada
The report identifies strategies to enhance the Criminal Code by including a specific hate crimes section. These strategies would allow for a standard hate crime definition for all law enforcement in Canada and provide improved collection, analysis, and dissemination of hate crime data, which would contribute significantly to community-policing initiatives as the bedrock of civil society.
Support Communities to Stand Up to Hate
A coordinated and collaborative approach in addressing hate will help demonstrate that hate is not a value that will be tolerated in Alberta. It is vital to help vulnerable communities understand the impact
of hate crimes, what they can do to make their communities safer, and how they can support targets/victims of hate. To support this vision of a hate-free Alberta, the AHCC proposes to establish
the first annual Hate Crimes Awareness Day in Spring 2010.
The 2008 Hate Crimes Report and these key recommendations serve to identify the disparity between law enforcement agencies in terms of hate crime definitions, how to report, how to investigate, and
how to collect hate crime data, all of which need significant improvement. In particular, collaboration and coordination in the form of a provincial strategy to address hate is urgently needed to enhance the investigation and prosecution of these insidious crimes, which are often designed to strike fear and terror into the very heart of communities. Alberta has the opportunity to become a national leader in its response to hate and to ensure for the safety and security of its citizens. We encourage all Albertans to stand up to hate wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. Collectively, we can make Alberta a hatefree province.
Alberta Hate/Bias Crime Report 2008
http://www.naarr.org/images/stories/pdf/AHCC%20Hate%20Crime% 20Report_2009_FINAL%20br.pdf
Hate Crimes: What You Should Know and What You Should Do
http://www.calgarycentreforculture.org/blog/wp-content/uploa ds/2009/12/Hate-Crimes-What-You-Should-Know-and-What-You-Sho uld-Do.pdf
also published by the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee provides a how-to guide to recognizing hate crime and steps for
reporting it – an important and vital step in stopping these crimes as only 10% of hate motivated incidents are actually
reported to authorities.
Hate crime can include: - bullying
- name calling
- racial slurs
- distribution of materials encouraging hate/prejudice
- threatening phone calls
- physical assaults
- destruction and/or effacing of religious symbols
In 2007, Hate crimes in Canada are motivated by: 60% race/ethnicity; 24% religion; and 10% sexual orientation (predominantly homosexuality)
Background
The Alberta Hate Crimes Committee (AHCC) was formed in 2002 to develop a province-wide framework that encourages and supports a collaborative and integrated approach to preventing, enforcing, and responding to hate and bias motivated activities in Alberta.
AHCC members represent government and community sectors working to reduce the number of hate and bias crimes in Alberta. As advocates and front line practitioners with diverse communities, they
have seen the negative impact of racism and prejudice in our society and its worst outcome – hate crime.
The Alberta Hate/Bias Crimes Report was a collaborative effort between the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security and the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee. We gratefully acknowledge financial
support from the Stollery Community Foundation for supporting the release of this report and the work of the AHCC.
Co-Chairs
Stephen Camp, Edmonton (780 )886 -5645
Doug Jones, Calgary (403 )999 -1233
http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/~/media/EPS%20External/Files/Me dia/Hate%20Crimes%20Report%20Media%20Release%20%20Nov%202009 .ashx
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aManOnaJourney
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What is a Hate Crime?
An offence committed against a person or property, which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the suspect’s hate, bias or prejudice towards an identifiable group based on, real or perceived, race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor.
Examples:
* Violence, threats of violence,
* Acts of mischief or vandalism
* Distribution of hate literature, hate mail,
* Threatening phone calls, and/or
* Destruction of religious property or symbols.
If one of these criminal acts occurs, and the investigating officer feels it is motivated by hatred, the file could be classified as a hate crime.
What are hate incidents?
It is important to note that not all incidents of hate are criminal in nature. However, the impact on the individual or community is similar. For a variety of reasons, it is important to report these occurrences to police.
Examples:
* Intimidation against identifiable groups or individuals,
* Distribution of prejudicial material, and/or
* Use of racial slurs against individuals.
What is Hate Propaganda?
Any communication, poster and/or graffiti used by a person or group which promotes hatred based on race religion, nationality or ethnic origin.
There are three Hate Propaganda sections in the Criminal Code. These sections are separate from the Criminal Code occurrences.
1. Advocating Genocide (Section 318)
Is to argue or urge people to kill others because on their color, race, religion or ethnic origin. Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part any identifiable group namely:
* Killing members of the group, or
* Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of calculated to bring about its physical destruction.
2. Public Incitement of Hatred (Section 319 (1))
Everyone who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of an offence.
3. Willful Promotion of Hatred (Section 319 (2))
Everyone who by communicating statements other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of an offence
Are you a Victim?
There are a number of indicators that may assist you in your assessment including:
* Language of the offender,
* Hate graffiti
* No association between the offender and you, and/or
* The victim and offender are from two different groups
What to do if you are a victim of a crime motivated by hatred?
If it is a crime in progress, call 911.
If it is not a crime in progress, contact the Lethbridge Regional Police Service
Please make sure that the investigating officer understands that you perceive the crime as being motivated by hatred.
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(Proud by Heather Small, Queer as Folk Soundtrack)
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aManOnaJourney
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Debate Over Hate
Lethbridge Herald by Dave Mabell, Dec 11, 2009
Hundreds of hate crimes are investigated across Canada every year. Yet only 10% are ever reported to police, says Doug Jones.
Co-chair of the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee, Jones says province-wide collaboration is essential if hate crimes are to be reduced. But so far, he said in an interview, Alberta’s police forces haven’t even agreed on how to report hate crimes.
And Alberta’s Crown prosecutors have been slow to cite hate-crime provisions of the criminal code which could bring increased penalties, he pointed out. The retired Calgary police officer added police services are less likely to share information about “hate groups” than they are about other crimes.
“There’s just so much we could do better than we are now,” he said.
That’s why Jones and co-chair Stephen Camp, a member of the Edmonton police service, formed the committee seven years ago.
“I was getting a lot of calls from people outside of Calgary,” he explained.
“We found people in the rural areas were just not getting the kind of support and educational resources they needed.”
And if some services were available, he added, they were inconsistent.
Today, Jones says, there’s a working committee of 10 — including a Lethbridge member — which also has representation from non-profit groups and various government agencies. The province’s human rights commission is involved as well.
“We’re slowly trying to find ways to improve our response to the victims,” he said. “It’s been an uphill battle.”
The group’s latest effort is a guide “Hate Crimes: What you should know and what you should do” released on Thursday, International Human Rights Day. It points out hate crimes may bring widespread repercussions.
“They affect more than just the victim; the family and the community are also hurt,” Jones stressed.
While hate crimes in Alberta have often targeted smaller groups - Jews, lesbians and gays, people of colour - Jones said one group is so often victimized in Alberta.
“Aboriginal people are the most frequently targeted,” he said. “And they are the least likely to report it.”
That’s one reason statistics on hate crime are incomplete. And those incidents that are reported, may not be recorded in the same way by each police service.
But simply listing those crimes would only be a first step. “Everything is being done very differently. We’d like to see a provincial co-ordinator to provide information and help for everyone who’s targeted or victimized. What to do, and where to go.”
Jones said committee members would like to see Crown prosecutors utilizing provisions of Criminal Code of Canada, in urging more severe sentences when hatred is behind an act of violence. At the same time, they’d support changes in Canadian law allowing police officers to lay a hate-crime charge directly, as in other nations.
Here in Alberta, Jones admitted he’s disappointed by a recent court decision overturning a “hate speech” penalty handed down by the human rights commission. As peace officer with years of hate crime experience, Jones was called to testify about the anti-gay nature of a letter published in the Red Deer Advocate.
“I felt the words that were used certainly crossed the line.”
The committee’s hate crimes guide — not yet posted on the Internet — shows young people are the most likely to be perpetrators or victims of hate crimes in Canada. One-third of the charges laid involve youth 12 to 17.
In Alberta, it reports, 60 % of the hate and bias crimes target people because of their race or ethnicity. Another 24 % are based on religion, and 10 % based on perceived sexual orientation.
The guide also urges Albertans to recognize a hate crime when then see one, and to become a witness rather than simply a bystander. It also outlines steps a witness can take -- including 911 calls, cell-phone photos and note-taking — which could help bring the perpetrator to justice.
__________________
"What have you done today to make you feel PROUD?"
(Proud by Heather Small, Queer as Folk Soundtrack)
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