Red Deer RCMP are raising awareness about hate crimes, which they say can come in many forms.
Hate Crime Awareness Day was Tuesday and Red Deer RCMP marked the occasion by holding an open house at the downtown detachment. Diversity co-ordinator for the city’s RCMP, Const. Shelley Bates, said it was an informal meeting for police to make contact with the public regarding hate crime awareness.
The Alberta Hate Crimes committee defines a hate crime as any criminal offence committed against a person, or property, motivated in whole or in part by the suspects’ hate, prejudice or bias against an individual or identifiable group based on real or perceived race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor.
“We want all communities in Red Deer to feel safe and people to know that we do not let any incident go,” said Bates.
Bates added that she strongly encourages anyone who thinks they have been the target of a hate crime to contact the RCMP immediately. She believes some instances go unreported.
“What we see is under reporting of hate crimes — 1 in 10 people report being a victim of hate crimes,” said Bates. “They instill fear in the groups or people they target. We find that induces fear of reporting incidents.”
Bates said there have not been a lot of hate crime investigations in the city but there still are instances. A graffiti incident turned out to be minor but they still want to make sure people know that any incident is taken very seriously by the RCMP.
The open house was used to launch the Alberta Hate Crimes Tool Kit, which is a resource booklet to increase their awareness about hate crimes.
It comes with a website, www.albertahatecrimes.ca, and focuses on what are considered hate crimes, projects the province and RCMP are undertaking to prevent hate crimes, and other resources and training opportunities.
The Red Deer open house featured a proclamation by Mayor Morris Flewwelling and informal discussions to bring awareness to the crimes.
Bates said hate crimes can create fear, which makes targeted people or groups feel as though they have a lack of safety and that can lead to a breakdown in community trust.
For more information on what is considered a hate crime or what can be done to help prevent hate crimes, go to the Alberta Hate Crimes website.
cpapke@www.reddeeradvocate.com