Police report rise in hate crimes in Waterloo Region

The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) reported a spike in hate-motivated crimes and hate-motivated incidents in 2023.

During a police board meeting on Wednesday, officials were told reports of hate-motivated crimes and incidents were up 94 per cent compared to 2022.

Cases jumped from 190 in 2022 to 369 in 2023.

“Since 2019, the amount of hate-motivated crime has increased every year,” WRPS Insp. Aaron Mathias said while presenting the report to the board.

More than half of those cases, 58 per cent, were considered to be non-violent, with 40 per cent of incidents involving property damage or mischief.

Hate-motivated crimes targeting race

The most common type of hate-motivated crime reported to WRPS involved race or ethnicity.

Of the 369 reported incidents in 2023, 190 involved race or ethnicity. That is up from 97 cases reported to police in 2022.

Black people were targeted most frequently.

“From 2020 to 2023 there were 387 hate-motivated crimes on the basis of race, 190 occurring in 2023. Across all [three] years, these hate-motivated crimes most often targeted Black individuals. In 2023, 43 per cent of those crimes based on race targeted Black individuals,” Mathias said.

Hate-motivated crimes targeting religious groups

Police also reported a rise in hate-motivated crimes and hate-motivated incidents targeting religious groups.

In 2022, 45 crimes were reported to police. In 2023, that number jumped to 67.

“The vast majority of police reported hate-motivated crimes targeting religious groups affected Jewish individuals, a trend continuing to increase year on year,” Mathias said.

Data provided by the police showed 87 per cent of hate motivated crimes towards religious groups targeted members of the Jewish community.

It comes as demonstrations continue across Waterloo Region while the war in Gaza wages on.

“I can say that Waterloo Region over the past several months, with the geo-political issues related to Gaza, has weathered some of these storms better than some other jurisdictions and communities across Canada. I can say that with certainty,” WRPS chief Mark Crowell said.

Hate motivated crimes targeting a sexual identities

Reported crimes targeting people based on their sexual orientation saw a significant jump in 2023, with more cases reported last year than in the previous three years combined.

The report shows 83 reports were made last year, compared to 32 in 2022, 14 in 2021, and 2 in 2020.

Mathias said 58 per cent of the crimes involved the 2SLGBTQ+ community in general.

Combating hate crime in Waterloo Region

When it comes to combating the rise in hate crime throughout the region, police plan to use recently obtained funding to help make it easier to report hate crimes when they happen.

“In 2024 the service was awarded the Frontline Policing Grant from the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The funding from this grant will help to establish a regional reporting system – for example, a mobile phone app – for hate-motivated incidents and to ensure we are using the most accurate data to establish a cohesive reporting strategy to inform ourselves and our public safety partners,” Mathias said.

He added police will be reaching out to some of the most affected communities to help develop the system.

Officials say one of the most important factors in combating hate crime is to report them when they happen.

“What we’re looking for at the end of the day is report it. Report it and police will make the differentiation,” WRPS manager of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Geraldine Stafford said.

“No matter how innocuous, how small, and maybe how insignificant you may feel the incident is, that’s not for the community to determine. We’ll make the determination.”

The Crowell echoed Stafford’s statement, urging people to reach out to police for help.

“We know that some of the trends are alarming, but we are absolutely focused on making our best efforts,” Crowell said.

“We can’t do it alone as a police agency. We need to have the educational sector at the table, we need to have all community groups representing vulnerable and marginalized communities where they may not have complete access to reporting in traditional means,” Crowell said.