New campaign encourages Edmontonians to report hate crimes

“See hate. Report hate.”

That straightforward message is part of a city-wide advertisement campaign that will appear on buses and in LRT stations beginning Wednesday in Edmonton.

The ads will include a QR code and the phone number for Crime Stoppers, the not-for-profit organization that receives anonymous tips.

Hate crimes and incidents can already be reported in a variety of ways: calling the EPS non-emergency line or using the online reporting option on the EPS website.

But because hate crimes are underreported, Crime Stoppers’ Chris Holtz says the campaign is important because of the anonymity promised by the organization.

“We will never ask for any personal or identifying information, we don’t use call trace, caller ID, voice trace, voice recognition, or any sort of tracking system. You will never be asked to appear in court, or to talk to lawyers or police,” said Holz, the president of the Edmonton and Northern Alberta Crime Stoppers chapter.

Edmonton police Deputy Chief Devin Laforce explains there is a difference between hate crimes and hate incidents. Crimes can be criminally charged, such as assault motivated by bias or prejudice. Incidents are actions that might be offensive or make someone feel unsafe, such as racial slurs.

Even if you’re not sure of the severity of what you’re reporting, Laforce says it’s important to report it.

“It’s still important for investigators to track hate incidents, even if we can’t lay charges,” he said. “Tracking hate incidents help us gather information and monitor those responsible for these incidents of hate who may later escalate their behaviour.”

Between April 2023 and April 2024, 6,554 tips were received by Crime Stoppers in Edmonton. Of those, just 29 were hate related – 0.44 per cent.

“I think that a lot of community members have that fear of reporting, they don’t want to be shown being the reporting party,” Holtz said. “So that’s why we figured this campaign would be a good step to hopefully getting some more of those reports coming in, and obviously doing it anonymously.”

Crimes or suspicious behavior can be reported to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online at www.p3tips.com/250. In an emergency, including crimes in progress, people should always call 911.