Vancouver City Hall, the site of the August 19th far-right rally, which was met with a counter protest made of 4000 protestors. (Photo by Yaunna Sommersby)
Recent racial and political tensions have turned the United States into a stick of dynamite whose fuse has been lit.
In Canada, while not as extreme, racial tensions have been making the forefront of public consciousness and the news. A recent far-right protest took place at Vancouver City Hall, while numerous racial tirades in public or on transit are often caught on camera.
For Const. Gareth Blount of the B.C. RCMP Hate Crimes Unit, this is the scenario the RCMP is trying desperately to avoid.
“Based on statistics in 2015, there was just under 10 per cent increase in hate crimes reported to the police [nationwide],” he said.
Blount notes, however, that when the data is viewed for specific minority groups, the statistics can change drastically. A 2015 report from Statistics Canada revealed there was a 61 per cent increase in hate crimes against Muslims.
“The part that I always look at is not necessarily the statistics, but how people feel, which you can’t necessarily quantify,” said Blount. “But I can say that from speaking to a few of the people that we deal with, there is a perceived increase, which is just as bad as a statistical increase.”
Blount cautions the statistics can only be so accurate, as they represent reported hate crimes. Many victims of these offences do not report out of fear of retribution, cultural differences, or a desire to move on with their life, he said.
“It’s so devastating not just for that person [the victim], but whole communities can be affected.”
While racial incidents are a concern for the RCMP, it states that it cannot be everywhere at once to police the public. Therefore, the RCMP’s role in combating the issue includes educating the public, aiding victims to report any hate crimes and making people aware of what to do.
“One of the things we’re trying to do, is we want people to know that we exist, and that they can use us, and how to use us,” Blount said.
Blount said that 48 per cent of hate crimes in Canada are because of a person’s race and national or ethnic origin, which is an area he says the RCMP needs to address.
Incidents of a racial nature, he said, can inflict fear, which can cause people to retreat to social groups that they feel secure in, or cause them to change who they are in order to fit in, which the RCMP wants to avoid.
Many people, Blount said, are unaware of the existence of the RCMP Hate Crimes Unit, and are even unaware of the role the police play. One of their goals is using education and awareness initiatives. They’ve been doing presentations to the local community groups, where people can ask questions, and are informed of when to report a potential crime.
“When people understand, hopefully they’re not fearful, and they will come forward and report,” Blount said. “We can’t help you unless we know what’s going on.”
• • •
The Aug. 12 alt-right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia led to plans for similar rallies across North America. When Vancouverites heard there was a protest planned at Vancouver City Hall, thousands of counter-protesters showed up.
The Vancouver Police Department had intelligence teams and its Emergency Operations and Planning Section work on gathering intelligence and preparing for responding to the protest.
“We are aware, we do have plans in place,” said Sgt. Jason Robillard of the VPD. “We plan for these events and monitor intelligence as it comes in, but we can’t share that with the public.”
The VPD deals with hundreds of rallies and protests each year. While individuals have the right to free speech, safety is the main concern when responding to these incidents.
“We have to carefully weigh the needs of the citizens’ rights for free speech with the need for public safety,” said Sgt. Robillard.
When responding to hate crimes within the Vancouver region, departments have the option of working on the investigations together. The Vancouver Police Department has the North Shore RCMP, Burnaby RCMP, Richmond RCMP, Transit Police, and the UBC RCMP surrounding its patrol borders.
“We can definitely work together, it just depends on how the call comes in and how it is passed on, but it is like any other type of call,” said Sgt. Robillard. “An incident where there is evidence of a hate-bias type of crime is given a little bit more weight.”
Every call that goes through to the VPD has the potential to be sent to detectives and investigators to follow up and “any sort of threat of a hate-bias crime is taken seriously.”
“We want to make sure we discourage these types of crimes either by getting an arrest, putting as many resources as we can into solving it, or making sure it doesn’t happen in the first place,” said Sgt. Robillard. “We need the community support to help prevent these types of crimes.”
