Hate crime charges more than doubled in 2024 in Mississauga, Brampton: police

Peel police laid more than twice as many hate crime charges last year in Mississauga and Brampton compared to 2023 despite the number of such offences remaining virtually unchanged, a report shows.

Statistics from Peel Regional Police show there were 166 reported hate-motivated crimes in the region’s two large cities in 2024 compared to 162 the previous year.

However, 74 charges were laid in 2024 while 35 charges were filed in 2023. Tracking back to 2022, police in Peel laid 37 charges and there were 123 hate crimes reported in the region.

Peel police Deputy Chief Mark Dapat, who authored the 2024 Hate-motivated Crime Report, noted the “significant increase” in number of charges laid from 2023 to last year.

“This increase could be attributed to a variety of factors,” he said in the conclusion of his report.

Dapat said those factors include, but are not limited to:

• a shift in the types and severity of crimes that are motivated by hate
• a continued enhancement of our investigators’ expertise and understanding of hate-related matters
• ongoing collaboration with community partners who recognize the importance of reporting such incidents

“The increase in the percentage of charges laid can also be partially attributed to heightened trust and confidence among community members in police and (our) response to hate-motivated crimes,” the deputy chief added. “This strengthened relationship has fostered greater willingness to engage in investigations and provide essential statements, thereby enhancing the ability to hold offenders accountable.”

Hate-motivated crimes, per the latest Peel police report, are defined as those committed “against a person or property that are motivated solely or in part by the offender’s hate, bias or prejudice based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or similar factor.”

The hate crime report, presented to the Peel Police Service Board at Friday’s monthly meeting of the oversight group, also acknowledged some incidents are not reported to police.

“There are several factors that operate on their own, or in combination, to shape the decision not to report (potential crimes),” the report reads.

Such factors, the report states, include:

• confusion/lack of knowledge about the definition of a hate-motivated crime
• fear of escalation and/or retaliation, embarrassment
• lack of trust in police (a sentiment that may also be present in some newcomer communities wherein negative experiences with police in the country of origin shape perceptions of police in this country)
• a belief that if identified and charged, the accused will not be convicted or adequately punished
• deal with the incident in another way
• concerns that a given incident may not be serious enough to report (which is often the case with hate-motivated incidents that do not meet the threshold for laying a criminal charge)

Dapat pointed out in his report that “given these considerations and in order to reduce victim reluctance to report,” the Peel police Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bureau engages in outreach programs in an effort to “build relationships and trust in our diverse community. It also educates community members about what constitutes a hate-motivated crime and (spreads) awareness of the initiatives our service has implemented to support victims while also working to prevent and control hate-motivated crime and incidents.”

(Source for all graphs: Peel Regional Police 2024 Hate-motivated Crime Report)