Waterloo Region saw twice as many hate crimes reported to police in 2014 as it did in 2013.
According to recent Statistics Canada data, there were 28 such incidents reported to police in 2014.
That’s up from 14 the year before, although Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin believes the number of incidents were under reported in 2013.
Larkin thinks the discrepancy doesn’t reflect a rise in the actual number of hate crimes, but instead people being more comfortable coming forward to report cases.
“I think there’s always a silver lining when we see increased reporting because I think it speaks to … some of the outreach work that we do,” Larkin said in an interview.
There are three main motivators of hate crimes in Canada.
Race and ethnicity make up about half of reported incidents, religion about a third, and sexual orientation about 10 per cent.
Most incidents are non-violent in nature.
Chief Larkin says the community should focus on “less talk” and more action to promote tolerance within the community.
With reporting by Nicole Lampa.
