By Samantha Craggs, CBC News
Posted: Apr 17, 2013 7:04 AM ET
Last Updated: Apr 17, 2013 8:34 AM ET
Hate crimes decreased in Hamilton last year, but the investigator who deals with them says most of the city's hate crimes are going unreported.
Hamilton police dealt with 180 incidents in 2011 where hate or bias against someone's race, religion or sexuality was a factor. In 2012, there were 161.
But there were likely many more than 161 last year, said Sgt. Nancy Lantz, an investigator in the Hamilton Police Service's hate crime extremism unit.
"People are not coming forward," said Lantz, who presented her findings to the police services board this week.
"It's statistically proven that hate crimes are one of the most underreported crimes. A lot of times, (victims) just want it to go away."
The largest number of bias-motivated incidents were against the black community, which accounted for 49 of the cases. The Jewish community was the victim in 25 incidents, the LGBTQ community in 15 and the Arab/west Asian community in 20 incidents.
Muslim, south Asian, east and southeast Asian and disabled residents were also targeted.
Lantz's report distinguished between a hate crime — of which there were 16 last year — and a hate/bias-related "event," of which there were 145.
With a hate crime, police can pinpoint the motivation. In the other category, there may be slurs or an element of discrimination, but police can't prove it as the motivation, Lantz said.
Graffiti was the most common incident where race was uttered, followed by neighbour disputes and assault. The victim's sexual orientation was a factor in four assaults.
Other crimes included arson, breaking and entering, criminal harassment and uttering threats.
Many victims don't recognize an offence as a hate crime. If they do, they hesitate to report it, Lantz said.
"They don't want to create a bigger problem by involving the police," she said. "They don't want to be stigmatized by the neighbours. They don't want to be ostracized from their own community.
"Sometimes there are cultural differences, and not knowing or being fearful of the process. There are so many reasons for the underreporting."
Madeleine Levy, a member of the police services board, raised a card at the meeting. It was for an organization dedicated to "building a better world for the Aryan nation." A woman found it tucked into a book about the Holocaust at the Dundas library, she said.
"There is this kind of activity in our community," she said.
Lantz is working with ethnic organizations in Hamilton to educate people about hate crime reporting.
Hate crimes in 2012
- Mischief (graffiti): five (two for race/ethnicity, three for religion)
- Assault: four (three for race, one for sexual orientation)
- Assault with weapon (one for race, three for sexual orientation)
- Uttering threats: two
- Criminal harassment: one (religion)
- Willful promotion of hatred: one (race/ethnicity)
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