Hate crimes up almost 33 per cent in Ottawa through first half of 2021
Posted Jun 30, 2021 07:01:00 PM.
An upward trend in hate crimes reported to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is continuing to worsen.
The OPS says it's seen an increase of 32.9 per cent in hate crime reports so far in 2021, from 79 cases to 105 cases, compared to the same time last year.
Police explain that a hate crime is a criminal offence committed against a person or property which is motivated by hate/bias or prejudice based on race, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, or other similar factor.
The OPS says the most serious violations seen in the city during 2021 are:
- Mischief to property
- Mischief Hate (culture/religion based)
- Threats/utter to person
- Assault with weapon
The groups most victimized are:
- Black
- Jewish
- LGBTQ+
- Arab and West Asian
- Catholic
Hate crime reports were up by 56.9 per cent in Ottawa in 2020, compared to 2019. There were 116 reports filed in all of 2019.
Anyone who knows someone or has been a victim of a hate-motivated crime themselves is asked to report it to the Ottawa Police Hate and Bias Crime Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5015 or online. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.
