HRPS
Halton Police
Recently, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) retained the help of Barbara Perry to study their policing methods on hate crimes.
Perry is the Director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism. Her work in the field is considered to be groundbreaking and has been recognized worldwide.
Since November last year, she studied policy mandates, reporting mechanisms, and annual reports, while interviewing members of the HRPS and community members who are victims of hate and/or those who are most likely to be subjected to or impacted by hate.
Perry concluded her study last month and published a report in which she lists a number of recommendations that the HRPS could follow to better serve our community.
Although there are many things about HRPS' policing methods that she criticizes, Perry feels there is plenty to applaud. In fact, the very fact that she was invited to review their policies shows a willingness to improve and "ensure that existing strengths are enhanced and gaps are filled."
133 survey respondents indicated that they had been targets of hate crime. But only 31 of them reported the incident.
One of the problems Perry identifies is that officers, who were involved in hate crime practice, weren't certain about what exactly they should be looking for (ie. possible indicators.)
"Some admitted to not being able to name any [hate crime indicators] in the moment; others were able to identify a very narrow range focusing largely on language used rather than the more nuanced contextual factors (e.g., location, date, etc.)." - Perry
Perry also felt that there isn’t a sense of urgency "or a capacity to fully engage with online materials that cross the criminal threshold." She urged the HRPS to be proactive in curbing online hate.
"There is certainly no indication of proactive approaches to this category (online hate) of hateful conduct."
Many officers who were interviewed also insisted that on-the-job training was enough to prepare them on how to deal with hate crimes.
Perry feels differently, and "leaving it up to the whims, awareness, and/or biases of coach officers can no longer be an option." She argues that there must be formal education on hate crime, especially for new recruits.
Refresher courses were touted as a good idea, too, as "hate crime training is not a one-time vaccination [and] requires occasional booster shots."
OakvilleNews.Org
Halton Regional Police Headquarters
Another problem is the lack of accuracy regarding the demographics of the HRPS. According to Perry, "it limits a broad awareness of the extent to which the service reflects the community it serves." Those who are under-represented might not “see” themselves in the service.
"The most up to date census (2022) garnered 1,259 responses, but only 731 of the surveys were completed. The low numbers notwithstanding, the information that is available suggests that there is considerable work to be done to create a more representative service." - Perry
From those census results, Perry notes that:
- Only 3% of those who completed the census identified as Indigenous.
- Around 8% as being from a racialized community.
- Nearly 60% were male, and none identified as non-binary.
- 6% identified with LGBTQ+ community - a quarter of whom were not out at work.
She believes the issue is made worse by the, "lack of diverse role models among senior leadership (Superintendents to Chief), who are largely white and male." This deepens the community trust deficit felt by residents who might see the service as "distant [and] not representative of the broader community."
Perry claims that the HRPS could counteract this by aggressively targeting recruits who actually reflect Halton's demographics.
She also reserves praise for the HRPS' recent move to assign a 900 call for hate/bias occurrences, which would "heighten [its] visibility."
Hate motivated occurrences are automatically elevated to the HRPS’ Criminal Investigations Bureau for investigation "rather than left to front line officers." This is apparently the case even for relatively minor events such as graffiti or vandalism.
The HRPS has a Victim Services Unit, made up of highly trained staff and volunteers. They provide compassion, support, and access to crime victims who need it.
It is Perry's observation that the VSU's training around hate crime "has not been extensive enough to help volunteers understand more clearly what it is or how it impacts victims in unique ways."
In her report, Perry relays a VSU member's suggestion that "very few victims actually take advantage of services – internal or external – when they are offered."
Although not "necessarily a reflection" of the HRPS, Perry believes there might be several factors at play, and it may be due to a distrust of police or "a subsequent unwillingness to prolong engagement with the police service."
In a survey of 52 respondents who reported a hate crime, only six indicated that they were offered "emotional" or "practical" support.
Perry determined that roughly half of Halton is satisfied with the HRPS' handling of hate crimes while the other half isn't. Some of her interviews with hate crime victims revealed "the notion that not everyone felt supported by police."
"Unfortunately, in at least six of the interviews with HRPS officers, a dismissive attitude was evident in the claim that most hate crimes were actually “pranks” or “jokes gone wrong.” This dismisses the trauma that might be experienced even in the context of relatively “minor” incidents; it also fails to recognize the potential for such occurrences to escalate into something more serious if not addressed." - Perry
Perry realized that although HRPS' officers were familiar with legislation, they weren’t with "on the ground" indicators of hate crimes.
Officers tended to focus on language "rather than more nuanced indicators such as temporal or even geographical contexts." Some suggested that hate crime was easy to identify, which Perry believes is overly simplistic.
Officers out in the field have to do additional work to gather concrete evidence of hate, prejudice or bias (ie. motivation). But, there is "no feedback loop in place to let officers know whether that added effort has had any impact at sentencing." If officers can’t see the results of their efforts, they might lose motivation and give up their pursuits.
The lack of feedback also affects the community negatively. As Perry puts it - "if law enforcement is not able to come back to affected communities to share outcomes, they risk widening the ‘trust deficit’ that already exists."
Perry concluded her report by strongly recommending that the HRPS fill out an annual report card that holds the HRPS accountable for the recommendations she has put forth.
