Hate crimes are staying steady while cybercrimes are increasing, according to a StatsCan report received by the Barrie Police Services Board.
During the meeting on Dec. 10, board members received a report on instances of hate crime and cybercrime in the Barrie area in 2019 with information from StatsCan.
Sgt. Michael Velema of Barrie police’s criminal investigations branch says there are several challenges local police face when investigating hate crimes.
“Hate crimes are generally under reported to the police,” Velema told BarrieToday. “This could be due to several factors: fear of retribution or revictimization as well as the shame and humiliation some victims experience in relation to these types of crime.
“Furthermore, many people that are the victims of hate crime may have come from countries where there is little trust in law enforcement. Also, some victims may fear the impact reporting these types of crimes may have on their bid to become citizens (which it doesn’t impact),” he added.
In Barrie in 2019, eight hate crimes were investigated by police in the Barrie area. In 2018, there were four incidents, while in 2017 there were 10.
The rate of hate crimes per 100,000 population were 3.1.
The Barrie catchment area includes areas outside of the Barrie Police Service jurisdiction, including the Springwater Township and Innisfil, which are overseen by Ontario Provincial Police and South Simcoe Police Service, respectively.
Police-reported hate crime is defined as a criminal violation against a person or property motivated by hate, based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor.
According to StatsCan, in 2019, Canadian police agencies reported 1,946 criminal incidents that were motivated by hate. Race and ethnicity remain the most common motives of hate crime. Mischief is the highest reported violation motivated by hate in Canada.
Velema says one of the larger hurdles in investigating hate crime locally is identifying with the victim or group that has experienced the crime. Understanding the motive or meaning to the crime as it relates to the culture and being able to respond to hate crime in a timely and sensitive manner is paramount.
The Barrie catchment area "has a diverse population, but not as diverse as major urban centres like Toronto, Peel and York. Having said that, our police service may not always have an investigator who is immediately knowledgeable about a targeted demographic or victim group,” he said.
All identified or perceived hate crimes are brought to the attention of Barrie police’s intelligence unit. While the Barrie police do not have a designated Hate Crimes Unit, all incidences of hate crimes are assigned to members of their criminal investigations branch.
Velema said all reported hate crimes in Barrie in 2018 and 2019 have been mischief and property crimes.
“(This includes) graffiti depicting swastikas or painted messages of intolerance,” he said. “Several of (the) identified suspects... (had) very little understanding of their own message, or were those with potential mental health issues.”
In 2020 so far, Barrie police have investigated four mischief-related incidents and one assault considered to be hate crimes.
“The past three years have been fairly consistent,” said Velema. “I don’t see that it is worsening, but again, not all crimes of this nature are brought to our attention. As the population... continues to grow and diversify there is always the potential for an increase.”
In regards to cybercrimes, 189 incidences were reported in the Barrie area in 2019 which is a rate of 74.4 incidences per 100,000 population. In 2018, there were 121 incidences, whereas in 2017 there were 95, which indicates an upward trend.
Across Canada in 2019, there were 44,136 police-reported cybercrime incidents.
The top violations that contributed to the numbers were fraud, child pornography, indecent and harassing communications, and uttering threats.
Det.-Const. James Munro works in the technological crimes unit of the Barrie police. He says that while cybercrime numbers have been trending upward over the past few years, 2020 will be difficult to categorize as the pandemic has impacted overall use of the internet.
“Barrie Police Service members investigating incidents associated with cybercrime statistics are required to delineate between two perspectives,” said Munro. “The member must decide whether the crime is a traditional crime such as fraud or harassment where the offender uses a form of technology to help facilitate committing the offence, or whether the technology is a component of the offence.”
As calls for service are received and investigated, officers are required to make this determination to determine what is needed for evidentiary purposes.
In 2019, Barrie police alone investigated 109 cybercrime incidences. So far in 2020, Barrie police have investigated 81 calls.
Munro says there are several common challenges for police when investigating cybercrime, such as the use of vanity names, multiple accounts and online profiles that need to be associated to a real person and location.
“The test for police becomes obtaining the digital evidence in an accurate and timely manner that provides leads to who is ultimately responsible for the cybercrime,” he said. “Some of the evidence being sought actually resides outside of Canada and this will involve international partnerships.”
Some challenges that investigators face beyond their control is the constant change of technology and how society uses technology day to day. Another challenge is encryption.
“More and more manufactures are building devices with encryption right out of the box. The use of encryption can delay access to data that is important and is another hurdle to solving these crimes,” said Munro.
An additional challenge for police is to anticipate the change, to stay current by attend training on the latest techniques to combat cybercrimes.
“It is believed that as society depends more and more on technology to socialize, conduct business and manage personal matters it will only be expected and anticipated that cybercrimes will increase,” said Munro. “As digital transactions of commerce increase with frequency to the electronic world so will the opportunities for cybercriminals to try to exploit people.”
