<strong>RCMP</strong> huMAN SubMiSSiON RiGhTShuMANAND POliCiNGRiGhTS AND POliCiNGB.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team fights hatredwith educationby Sgt Sean McGowan<strong>RCMP</strong> b.C. hate Crime TeamThe <strong>RCMP</strong> <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team in BritishColumbia is an integrated unit created in1996 with a m<strong>and</strong>ate to ensure the effectiveidentification, investigation <strong>and</strong> prosecutionof crimes motivated by hate.<strong>Hate</strong> crimes are offences that strikeat the very cohesiveness of society. Oftenindividuals <strong>and</strong> groups are targeted solely onthe basis of who they are, <strong>and</strong> not because ofanything they have done.The impact of these crimes extendsbeyond the initial victims <strong>and</strong> creates fearin the broader communities.These crimes can lead to socialtensions between individuals, groups, thepolice <strong>and</strong> other government agencies,thereby furthering the destructive aims<strong>and</strong> objectives of those who encourage <strong>and</strong>promote hatred. <strong>Hate</strong> crimes are diverse,engender repetition by others <strong>and</strong> inciteretaliation.If left unchecked, these crimes canincrease in their severity <strong>and</strong> may result inan escalation in social tensions betweendifferent groups, which can destroy theharmony in our communities.The B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team realizesthat to effectively fight hate <strong>and</strong> bias crime,partnerships are critical.The B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team is made upof the <strong>RCMP</strong>, the New Westminster PoliceService, the B.C. Ministry of Citizen’sServices, the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety<strong>and</strong> Solicitor General, Crown Counsel <strong>and</strong>the Attorney General’s Office.All these partners have a specific roleto play in combating hate in the province ofBritish Columbia.Between 1996 <strong>and</strong> 2002, the team’sprimary focus was public education.Because only a small percentage of hatecrimes are reported to police, the teamworked with the communities to build thetrust needed for people to come forward<strong>and</strong> report these crimes. Since 2002,the <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team uses a four-stepapproach to tackling hate crime: publiceducation (working with communities),police education, intelligence gathering <strong>and</strong>providing expertise in investigations.Front-line officersPolice officers on the front line play asignificant role in combating hate, <strong>and</strong>much of the B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team’s effortis spent addressing this issue.Two of the team’s full-time investigatorsdeliver presentations to other police acrossthe province.If a police officer responding to a hatecrime doesn’t recognize the key indicatorsof hate-motivated crime, if the crime is nottreated appropriately by investigators orbrought to the attention of the B.C. <strong>Hate</strong>Crime Team, <strong>and</strong> if the true motivation ofthe crime is not identified, the legislationwithin the Criminal Code to deal with hatecrime effectively may not be applied.PartnersThe Crown Counsel assigned to the hatecrime team provides legal advice to theinvestigators <strong>and</strong> assists the local CrownCounsel in making the decision to lay hatepropag<strong>and</strong>a charges <strong>and</strong> putting togetherhate crime sentencing packages once anoffender is convicted of a hate crime.Another integral partner is theMulticulturalism <strong>and</strong> Inclusive CommunitiesOffice, which is responsible for thegovernment’s multiculturalism <strong>and</strong> antiracismprogram.The program is carried out throughgrants authorized by the MulticulturalismAct. It aims to prevent <strong>and</strong> eliminate racismby enhancing community underst<strong>and</strong>ing ofmulticulturalism <strong>and</strong> cultural diversity inBritish Columbia.The Act outlines government policyspecifically to create a society where thereare no impediments to the full <strong>and</strong> freeparticipation of all British Columbians inthe economic, social, cultural <strong>and</strong> politicallife of the province.The province has a strong commitmentto the Act. It has created the CriticalIncident Response Model (CIRM), a threestep,three-year program that supportscommunities to develop locally designedresponse <strong>and</strong> prevention strategies <strong>and</strong>protocols to counter incidents of racism<strong>and</strong> hate.This program has proven its value <strong>and</strong>worth on several occasions, most recentlyin Courtney, B.C., where an assault ofa black man by three white men wasvideotaped <strong>and</strong> posted to YouTube. Theincident received much national attention.Courtney was already in the CIRMprogram <strong>and</strong> had developed a communityprotocol on how to deal with an incident ofracism or hate.By bringing together a representativeof the CIRM group with <strong>RCMP</strong> inCourtney, an appropriate media responsewas developed, which diffused anger <strong>and</strong>concerns in the community.legislationWhat many police officers <strong>and</strong> members ofthe public do not know is that the CriminalCode of Canada has several sections thatdeal specifically with hate.These sections include the <strong>Hate</strong>Propag<strong>and</strong>a Sections, 318 (AdvocatingGenocide) <strong>and</strong> 319 (Public Incitement ofHatred <strong>and</strong> the Wilful Promotion of Hatred).Sections 320 <strong>and</strong> 320.1, both warrant ofseizure sections, deal specifically with hatepropag<strong>and</strong>a. Section 430.(4.1)(Mischief toReligious Property) speaks directly to theoffence being motivated by hate, prejudiceor bias based on religion, race, colour ornational or ethnic origin.One of the most powerful pieces oflegislation is Section 718.2, the greaterpunishment section, which gives the courtthe ability to impose a greater sentenceon an individual if the judge believes theoffence was motivated by hate.The B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team assisted inthe recent investigation <strong>and</strong> conviction ofMichael K<strong>and</strong>ola, who plead guilty to assaultcausing bodily harm, which was motivated12<strong>Gazette</strong> Vol. 72, No. 3, 2010
huMAN RiGhTS AND POliCiNG<strong>RCMP</strong> <strong>RCMP</strong> SubMiSSiON COVERThe impact of hate crimes extends beyond the initial victims <strong>and</strong> creates fear in the broader communities.by hate based on sexual orientation. InJustice Grove’s remarks, he said the Crownhad proven that hatred of the victim’s sexualorientation was the motivation behind hisactions.Justice Groves said this hatred wasan aggravating circumstance that he mustconsider in sentencing.TrendsThe most common offences that thehate crime team deals with are mischief,assaults, threats <strong>and</strong> hate propag<strong>and</strong>a.With developments in technology suchas the Internet <strong>and</strong> social networkingwebsites, investigators have seen anincrease in complaints of hate propag<strong>and</strong>a.Organizations that track hate activity on theInternet estimate that there are thous<strong>and</strong>s ofhate sites today.The Internet is the main tool used by hategroups worldwide for recruiting, expressingtheir ideology <strong>and</strong> rhetoric, <strong>and</strong> selling theirhate music, which is an industry unto itself.Investigators are well aware of thebalance between freedom of expressionas expressed in Section 2 of the CanadianCharter of <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>and</strong> Freedoms <strong>and</strong> the hatepropag<strong>and</strong>a Sections as spelled out in theCriminal Code.Although many investigations of hatepropag<strong>and</strong>a have taken place, only onesuch investigation since 2002 has met thehigh st<strong>and</strong>ard for charge approval in BritishColumbia.It resulted in a criminal conviction forthe Wilful Promotion of Hatred, <strong>and</strong> it wasbased on the content of a website.The B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> Crime Team began itsinvestigation of this particular website in2004.Bill Noble was believed to be responsiblefor the U.S.-hosted site although he residedin Fort St. John, a community in northernBritish Columbia. The website promotedhatred against Jews, blacks, homosexuals,non-whites <strong>and</strong> persons of mixed race orethnic origin.The site also expressed an interestin recruiting skinheads <strong>and</strong> was linkedto several well-known neo-Nazi/whitesupremacist websites. Noble was foundguilty <strong>and</strong> received a sentence of six monthsin jail.Often in these types of crimes, theindividuals responsible for maintaining <strong>and</strong>controlling the hate sites believe that byhosting them in another country, they aresafe from prosecution or investigation inCanada.Investigators on the B.C. <strong>Hate</strong> CrimeTeam team believe that if an individualmaintains <strong>and</strong> controls a website fromCanada, regardless of where it is hosted,<strong>and</strong> this site is viewable to Canadians <strong>and</strong>meets the high threshold when balancingfreedom of expression <strong>and</strong> hate propag<strong>and</strong>a,the individual is subject to investigation <strong>and</strong>prosecution in Canada. ▪<strong>Gazette</strong> Vol. 72, No. 3, 2010 13
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