The Toronto Police Service (the Service) has released hate crime data from 2018 to 2023 on its Public Safety Data Portal. The data, extracted from the Service’s Annual Hate Crime Statistical Reports, represents verified hate crimes as determined by the Hate Crime Unit.

The Service’s Hate Crime Unit, established in 1993, is responsible for collecting statistical data and ensuring the thorough investigation of hate crime offences within the City of Toronto.

“The number of reported hate crimes has been steadily increasing since 2018, which is of increasing concern to the Service and to the residents of Toronto,” said Chief Myron Demkiw. “The Service is providing an external dashboard to promote transparency in hate crime data and trends, to help us co-design, co-develop and co-deliver strategies needed to keep our communities safe.”

The data is provided on the Hate Crime Dashboard and as a downloadable open dataset. While the data is currently released annually, the Service aims to increase the frequency of updates on the Data Portal.

The data is provided at the offence and/or occurrence level, and it is possible for one occurrence to impact multiple communities as the victim may fall under multiple bias categories. Hate crimes bias categories include age, mental or physical disability, race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other similar factor, and all are available for selection on the Data Portal.

Hate crime occurrences have been grouped at the neighbourhood level to protect the privacy of victims, and no personal identifiers or address information is included. All location data should be considered as an approximate location of the occurrence.

“The under-reporting of hate crimes continues to be a challenge for police. There is a gap between what is being reported to us and what is being reported to advocacy groups and other agencies,” said Deputy Chief Johnson. “In addition to the hate crime dashboard, the Service has initiated a hate crime video series, a hate-motivated graffiti intake form, a hate crime awareness campaign in collaboration with Crime Stoppers, all in an effort to increase awareness about hate crimes and encourage reporting to police.”

A video tutorial has been created by the Service to educate users on how to use the Hate Crime Dashboard and identify trends. Users are also encouraged to visit the Report Summary on page three for useful information before getting started, including details on the intent of the dashboard, key terms and qualifiers, and page navigation information.

“Hate crimes have an impact that is much larger than the singular offence,” said Deputy Johnson. “Whether it be graffiti, harassment or an assault, their impact affects the individual, their family, friends, and their community as a whole.”   

Prior to launching the hate crime dashboard, the Service met with various Community Consultative Committees representing diverse groups across the city to get their feedback and to ensure the data being provided is what communities are seeking.

In his monthly report to the Toronto Police Service Board, Chief Demkiw provided an update on the number of hate crime calls for service attended. Since October 7, 2023, the Service has attended 1,556 suspected hate crime calls for service, confirmed 390 suspected hate crimes, made 130 arrests and laid 314 hate crime occurrence related charges. In June, the Service attended 171 hate crime calls. In July, there was a 30 per cent decrease, with 113 calls attended, as of July 27.