Revising Hate/Bias Crime Resource Document

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s (OACP) Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee has embarked on a revision of its Hate/Bias Crime: A Review of Policies, Practices, and Challenges document. This resource was published in 2020 and built on the work of Dr. Timothy Bryan of Dalhousie University. The revision is in response to growing concerns about the impact of hate and bias-related incidents and crimes related to world events that are impacting the safety and well-being of individuals and groups across Ontario.

Hate/Bias Crime: A Review of Policies, Practices, and Challenges is designed to assist police services with information and practical resources to address challenges related to the investigation and frontline policing of hate/bias crimes and to provide strategies for more effective interventions to prevent their occurrence.

Hate/bias crime is defined in the Criminal Code of Canada in sections 318, 319, 430(4.1) and the purposes and principles of sentencing (718.2(a)(i)). These criminal acts represent a clear danger to the safety and well-being of individuals as members of diverse and distinct communities in Ontario.

“Hate/bias crime” is a broad legal term that encompasses a diversity of motives, perpetrators, victims, behaviours, and harms. Research has identified individuals and groups that are at particular risk of hate/bias crime victimization, including Indigenous peoples and those targeted because of race, religion, ethnicity, national orientation, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, or an intersection of more than one of these identities.

A copy of the current version of Hate/Bias Crime: A Review of Policies, Practices, and Challenges is available here.