Recent hate-related crime against a Toronto store.
Hate crimes have increased more than 40 per cent in the City so far this year and it is not slowing down.
Police said the war with Israel against Hamas has sparked the increase of hate-related crimes in Toronto, across Canada and the world.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw in his latest update said between January 1 and December 17 there have been 338 reported hate crimes, compared to 239 during the same time last year. That is a 41 per cent increase.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw.
Demkiw said this included 147 anti-Semitic hate crimes compared to 81 during the same period last year. And there were 37 anti-Muslim-Palestinian-Arab hate crimes during that period, compared to 14 incidents last year.
“We are steadfast in our resolve to ensure that Palestinian, Muslim, Jewish, all communities for that matter, are kept safe from acts of hatred and violence,” the Chief said in an update on December 19 to the Police Services Board.
He said between October 7 and December 17 there were 98 hate crimes reported in Toronto, compared to 48 in 2022 during the same time period. This includes 56 anti-Semitic hate crimes reported, as compared to 18 during the same period last year.
There were 20 anti-Muslim/Palestinian/Arab hate crimes reported during the same time period, compared to two the same time last year.
Officers investigating hate-related crimes that are on the rise in Toronto.
There were also 11 reported hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ2S+ communities during this period, versus eight during the same time last year.
Some 53 per cent of the hate crimes were anti-Semitic from the October to December time period.
“We will be relentless, indeed resolute, in our pursuit of those who perpetrate crimes against any group or community,” Demkiw said. “Hatred will have no space in our city.”
He said since October 7, the beefed up Hate Crime Unit has made 43 arrests and laid 96 charges related to hate crime occurrences. Of the 96 charges, some 28 cases were mischief related 16 were assault related.
The war in the Middle East has repercussions in Toronto and across Canada.
The force in November launched its hate-motivated graffiti intake form on TPS.ca to report hate-motivated graffiti. Since then they have received 129 submissions of which eight were confirmed hate crimes. There have been 159 hate crime graffiti occurrences reported to police between October 7 and December 17, including 27 anti-Muslim/Palestinian/Arab occurrences, compared to one last year and 111 anti-Semitic occurrences, versus 12 last year.