Our Commitment to You
Incidents and crimes rooted in hate continue to be underreported in Canada. Kingston Police recognizes that stigma, bias, prejudice and discrimination exist in our community. We are committed to taking a stance against hate by making hate crime investigations a high priority and ensuring proper support for victims to create a safer and more inclusive community. Hate has no place in our communities. We encourage residents to report any incident that is motivated by hate or bias. We appreciate your cooperation in helping to eliminate these types of incidents from our communities.
How to Report a Hate Crime | ||
---|---|---|
Is this an EMERGENCYor Happening Right Now |
Non-Emergency |
|
CALL 911 |
Call 613-549-4660 / TTY 613-549-8792 |
|
|
|
|
What is a Hate Crime? Is it a criminal offence? |
There is no specific offence of Hate Crime in the Criminal Code of Canada. There are only three offences in the Code that specifically pertain to hate, they fall under the Hate-Propaganda section and they are as follows:
Besides these offences, there are many other offences the public often refer to as Hate Crimes, however police reference these as Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated Crime. |
What is a Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated Crime? |
Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated Crime involves the commission of a criminal offence based solely upon the victims race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or any other similar factor(s).
In order for police to lay a Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated criminal charge, there are two things that must first occur:
Penalties: If convicted of a criminal offence and it is proven to be motivated by hate or bias, higher penalties may be imposed by the judge during sentencing. |
Have you been a victim of a hate crime? |
|
Kingston Police Reassurance Program |
Hate/bias motivated crimes and incidents impact our community members in a number of negative ways. The residual impact of such crimes and incidents often result in feelings of fear, marginalization and alienation. In an effort to ensure that the members of our community who are victimized by hate motivated crimes and incidents receive the necessary support and reassurance, and to help mitigate and minimize the above noted concerns, Kingston Police Reassurance Protocol/Program has been formally implemented by the Community Oriented Response and Engagement (CORE) Unit:
|
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms |
Freedom of expression is an enshrined fundamental freedom in Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 2 of the Charter reads: Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
Hate speech is NOT protected by the Charter. |