By Reuel S. Amdur
Staff Writer
Sergeant Lori Bustard told the gathering of Arab-Canadians about the role of Ottawa’s Hate Crimes Unit. When it came time for questions and comments, one woman said, accusingly, “People say it’s for Jews, blacks and gays.”
“Well, those are the groups we get most of the complaints from, but I’m here because we want to encourage all groups with problems to report.” Her openness and enthusiasm made an impression.
Ottawa’s Hate Crimes Unit came into being because of concerns of the gay community following the murder of Alain Brosseau in a gay bashing. “And actually, he wasn’t even gay,” said Gareth Kirkby, editor of Xtra, the local gay and lesbian paper. A liaison committee was established and police also worked with other minority liaison groups. It was through their advocacy that the Hate Crimes Unit became a reality. A leader in Ontario, it is now one of 11 in the province.
The unit, composed of two officers, is responsible to investigate, to develop intelligence about groups and individuals who could pose a risk, to provide outreach and to educate the public, as well as to provide some training for the force itself.
In Canada, hate crimes are treated somewhat differently than in the United States. Under Canadian law, penalties are increased for offenses which are motivated by hate. In addition, freedom of speech in Canada is more limited than in the United States. Hate speech is a crime. Moreover, the unit encourages people to report even minor incidents that fall short of a criminal offense. They want to know about these because they need to track information such as the age of offender, ethnic group and geographical location.
A minor incident may consist of a neighborhood conflict or a dispute over a parking spot. There might be some words exchanged-”faggot,” “go back to where you came from,” etc. An officer will pursue even these situations and if the party is found, he or she will be cautioned.
One set of incidents that drew media attention was a rash of vandalism perpetrated on newspaper boxes of Xtra. Kirkby was quite satisfied by the unit’s involvement and commented that their response to hate crimes generally is “quite aggressive.” The person who did the damage to the boxes was caught by video camera and was sentenced to three months house arrest.
Rubin Friedman, who was with B’nai Brith at the time, was engaged by the unit to train police about the nature of prejudice, hate crimes and how to deal with them. He says that the Hate Crimes Unit is “genuinely interested in reaching out to the community.” Kirkby agrees, adding that they need more staff.
When Statistics Canada published 2006 data for hate crimes, Ottawa was near the top, coming in below Calgary and Kingston, with 6.6 crimes per 100,000. “Really, it’s a good thing,” said Bustard. It shows that they are encouraging reporting. According to her partner Detective John Byers, most of their work involves graffiti and other property damage. Religious facilities are common targets-Jewish institutions, mosques, and Catholic churches.
Another unit of the Ottawa force, the Diversity and Race Relations Unit, has as its mandate to improve communication between police and immigrants and visible minorities, to share their expertise with the force and develop a greater understanding of the role of the police in a diverse society, to develop responses to issues arising in minority communities and to understand and defuse causes of tension between police and minority groups. Its head, Sergeant John Medeiros, pointed out that unlike the Hate Crimes Unit, it does not have an investigative function.
In line with its proactive social vision, the force gives particular attention to the needs of the victims of crime. Criminologists have commented that the processes of criminal justice tend to forget the victim, but the Ottawa Police Service is trying to do its part. The force has a civilian component of social workers and similarly trained professionals in the Victim Crisis Unit, headed by Donna Watson-Elliott. It operates 24/7 to assist victims and their families.
This unit gets involved in different ways, according to Watson-Elliott. An officer on the scene will often call for help, a victim may call directly or the unit may identify a victim or family on the police computer. Because there are only seven in the unit, they make referrals to the Victim Assistance Service of Ottawa-Carleton, a social agency that supplies trained volunteers. Another agency, Immigrant Women’s Services, can be called upon for translation.
The Province of Ontario has a program of financial compensation for victims of crime. One element of the program is the Victim Quick Response Program, which provides immediate funding for things like transportation, clean-up of a crime scene, funeral expenses, and counseling. The Ottawa force ranks high on the list of departments for the rate of referral to this program.
The demands of a diverse, growingly multicultural community have propelled the Ottawa force in the direction of a wider social vision. That’s why it reaches out to partner with all segments of the community and that is why it gives succor to victims. The Ottawa department is widely seen to be in the forefront of forces in Ontario and in Canada.
Published in The Independent Monitor September 2009 issue.
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