Jews Convince Police to Maintain List of Thought Criminals
Source: The Calgary Herald | Sunday 12 August 2001
Database Tracks City Hate Crimes
Grady Semmens
Calgary police have launched a new database to fight rising incidents of racism and hate.
The new reporting system, the first of its kind in the province, is designed to collect reports of “hate incidents,” or non-criminal acts motivated by hate, that happen in the community.
While most reports likely won’t result in investigations, police hope the new numbers will give them a better handle on the mindset in Calgary’s flourishing cultural mosaic.
“Every time something takes place, even if it’s a racial slur or just name-calling, there is a victim who is traumatized,” said Const. Doug Jones, the police department’s co-ordinator of hate/bias crimes.
“These acts leave people feeling intimidated and can lead to assaults or other crimes taking place.
“Their effect is widespread and we felt we should be responding to them.”
The number of hate crimes committed in Calgary has increased by 64 per cent in the last four years, going from 85 cases in 1997 to 133 last year.
Assaults, threats, harassment, robberies, thefts and spreading of hate materials are among the most common crimes where victims were targeted because of their race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disabilities.
Although the numbers are rising, Jones said it’s not necessarily a bad sign. Police estimate only 10 per cent of Calgary’s hate crimes are reported to the authorities.
They hope that number will increase as people begin using the new hate incident reporting system.
“We find that people involved in hate incidents are often involved in hate crimes because name-calling can lead to violence. The two are definitely linked,” said Jones.
“We want to make sure people know what hate incidents are, that the Calgary Police Service wants to hear about them and that the perpetrators face significant penalties in court because their crime was motivated by hate or bias,” he said.
The initiative is being lauded by Calgary’s multiculturalism community as a sign police take racism seriously.
“This will be very useful in the future. By recording (hate incidents), we are raising awareness about racism and then we can be proactive in trying to combat it,” said Bayla Jacobs, a member of the city’s Committee on Race Relations and Cross Cultural Understanding.
“It gives people hope. It tells them society cares about this and that there’s something they can do if they are a victim of racist acts.”
The Edmonton Police Service is also using Calgary’s model to revamp its hate-bias crime unit in the near future.
“We’re looking at Calgary, Toronto and B.C.’s hate crimes unit, all of which have begun recording hate incidents,” said EPS hate-bias crime co-ordinator Const. Stephen Camp.
“It is an excellent intelligence tool and a real proactive approach to dealing with hate and bias crimes.”
By calling the Calgary Police Service’s main number, 266-1234, victims can have their hate incidents logged in the police database. The files can then be used by the police department’s eight-member cultural resources unit, whose officers are assigned to work with the various cultural groups [Jews] in the city.
The unit is planning to promote the new reporting system this fall.
