New campaign aims to encourage Edmontonians to report more hate crimes

Starting Sept. 25, 2024, some of Edmonton's transit vehicles and stations will host advertisements like this, as well as the phone numbers of Crime Stoppers and Edmonton Police Service, who are partnering to encourage more Edmontonians to report hate crimes. (Evan Klippenstein / CTV News Edmonton)

Crime Stoppers and Edmonton police are trying to alleviate hesitation around reporting hate crimes and incidents with a new campaign.

Starting Wednesday, two Edmonton Transit Service buses and several transit stations will host advertisements reading, "See hate. Report hate," with the phone numbers of Crime Stoppers and Edmonton Police Service.

According to Crime Stoppers, only 29 tips out of some 6,500 reported between April 2023 and April 2024 were related to hate crimes.

"We definitely know that these incidents are happening but I think that a lot of community members have that fear, obviously, of reporting. They don't want to be shown to be the reporting party," Chris Hotlz, president of the local Crime Stoppers chapter, said during a news conference on Wednesday where the buses were unveiled.

Crime Stoppers is a charitable not-for-profit organization that receives anonymous tips; it does not ask for personal or identifying information or use any voice recognition or tracking systems.

The campaign was also touted as one of many efforts to address a community-wide problem and an educational tool by Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis, a former cop.

"Somebody might be a victim of a hate crime, as an example, and not know what to do. Maybe the bus drove by, maybe the sign was nearby," he said.

Officials say reports of hate crimes and incidents have risen in recent years, although they say it's tough to say by how much.

"The point about having an underreported crime is we don't necessarily have that true picture," explained EPS deputy chief Devin Laforce.

While both hate crimes and hate incidents are motivated by hate, bias or prejudice, they differ in that the former meets the Criminal Code's definition of an offence.

"It's still important for our investigators to track hate incidents, even if we can't lay charges," Laforce said.

"A hate incident can still have a serious impact on an individual, as it can cause fear to the individual and to the community. Tracking hate incidents help us gather information and monitor those responsible for these incidents of hate, who may later escalate their behaviour. It also offers us an opportunity for intervention and education of the individual exhibiting hate. The information we gather about hate incidents can further help us allocate resources accordingly, as the data can indicate those trends or emerging issues that we need to respond to."

The entire campaign will run for eight to 12 weeks and cost $35,000.