Hate incidents targeting Asian Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 18, 2021   4:54pm 

(Ottawa) — Since the start of the pandemic, the proportion of racialized members of the community who have experienced an increase in harassment or attacks based on their race, ethnicity, or skin colour has increased compared to the rest of the population. The largest increase is seen among Asian-Canadians. In 2020, the number of reported incidents targeting people of Asian descent increased to 14 from 2 in 2019. 

The tragic events that occurred in the mass shooting event in Atlanta, Georgia, US this week have refocused attention on this important issue.

The Ottawa Police continues to reach out to the Asian community to express our support and our commitment to everyone’s safety. Neighbourhood Resource Team members have been engaged to work with community contacts and uniformed police presence has been increased.  

Our Hate and Bias Crime Unit and Diversity Resource and Relations Unit are focused on ensuring community members are better educated on and enabled to report hate incidents.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of what they perceive to be a hate-motivated incident, please report it to the Ottawa Police Hate and Bias Crime Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5015 or online. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca

“The Ottawa Police fully investigates all hate-motivated incidents and takes them very seriously,” said Sgt. Ali Toghrol of the Hate and Bias Crime Unit. “We encourage anyone in our community who has been targeted to report it to police.”

A hate crime is a criminal offence committed against a person or property which is motivated by hate/bias or prejudice based on race, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, or other similar factor.

Officers in the Hate and Bias Crime Unit monitor and triage all incoming reports and ensure a timely, consistent and effective response to all hate-motivated incidents in the city.

All sections of the Ottawa Police Service including, Patrol Operations, Front Desk Services, Communications Centre and our Neighbourhood Response Teams have received specialized training from the Hate Bias Crime Unit to ensure the appropriate response and improve service delivery. We have also engaged OPS officers of Asian descent to reach out directly and communicate our support and information and how to report crimes in multiple languages. 

For more information, visit the Hate-Motivated Crime Section online.  

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CONTACT:

Media Relations Section

Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366