Durham Region residents can now report hate crimes and incidents without going to police

A new online portal allows Durham Region residents to report hate-motivated crimes and incidents, as well as access support, without involving police. 

The reporting program, launched last week on the Victim Services of Durham Region (VSDR) website, follows a 77 per cent spike in police-reported hate crimes and incidents in the region from 2023 to 2024, according to police data. 

But Sydney Marcoux, acting executive director of VSDR, says existing data may not tell the whole story, as many may choose not to report such incidents to police due to a lack of trust, fear of retaliation and uncertainty about what can be considered a hate crime.

"I think that there's a massive gap in the data collection certainly," she said of hate crimes and hate incidents, adding with the new reporting tool, "we're trying to create the most accurate picture possible."

Researchers and community organizations involved in the program say it presents an alternative for people reluctant to go directly to police and will improve data collection for hate crimes and non-criminal hate incidents. 

Hate incidents can include "disrespectful, discriminatory or hostile speech” and may be classified as a crime after police investigation, according to the Durham Regional Police Services (DRPS) website. 

People who are racialized and the 2SLGBTQ+ community may be particularly reluctant to engage with police due to longstanding, fraught relationships with law enforcement, said Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University.

“There is some distrust, there's some level of fear of law enforcement, but they nonetheless do want their experiences recorded,” she said. 

Users who fill out the online reporting form can indicate whether they want to be contacted by VSDR and can choose to be anonymous. 

For those who ask to be contacted, the type of support will depend on the nature of the incident, Marcoux said. For example, if the incident involved graffiti, the VSDR would handle clean up so the victim would not need to, she said. 

People may also be connected to  “culturally appropriate services” that meet their needs and experiences, Marcoux said. 

VSDR created the program in partnership with the Region of Durham. In a news release, the region said similar reporting programs have been launched in Ottawa and Chatham Kent, but said this is the first of its kind in the Greater Toronto Area. 

The portal is “meant to be complementary to the work that DRPS will be doing,” said Allison Hector-Alexander, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Region of Durham. 

Those who access support through the program can decide whether to involve police at any point, she said, and the program is designed to provide a “warm handover” if they do.