How Toronto police are tackling the alarming rise in hate crimes

The text from a Toronto police spokesperson came at 8:30 on a Friday morning. A synagogue in the city's north end had been vandalized overnight. Our crew could meet detectives from the force's Hate Crimes Unit on site.

We arrived at the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue to find congregant Norman Mosselson quietly sweeping up broken glass. When we asked him how he felt, his voice broke and he stifled a sob. 

"Well, shock. Total shock… This is my home," he said. This was the second time the synagogue had been attacked in a month. 

A few minutes later, detectives Kiran Bisla and Pat Alberga from the Hate Crimes Unit arrived and noted the several broken windows. The glass on one of the synagogue's doors was also completely shattered. 

Bisla says determining if an incident can be called a hate crime comes down to two critical pieces of evidence: crime and motive.

"This is mischief, it's vandalism to a synagogue," she said. "So it is a criminal offence. Whether the incident is motivated by hate or prejudice, that is part of our investigation." 

Toronto police say reports of hate incidents have risen 64 per cent since war broke out between Israel and Hamas and that they have since laid more than 240 hate-related charges.

Since Oct. 7, the Hate Crimes Unit has expanded from a team of six to 32 and has responded to more than a thousand such reports, up from 225 in the previous year. 

Police say more than half of the hate crimes reported this year have targeted Jewish people. Followed by, in order, incidents against the 2SLGBTQ+, Black and Muslim communities. 

Attacks on both synagogues and mosques have shaken the Muslim and Jewish communities.

Bisla spent several minutes talking to visibly upset congregants at the synagogue. These investigations stand out, she says, because of the pain they cause.  

"It's terrible and it's clear to see what the impact is, not only on the synagogue but the community as well," she said. 

While police did their work, Rabbi Joe Kanofsky walked carefully over the shattered glass and surveyed the damage solemnly. Facing this for a second time, Kanofsky says he dreads what can happen next.

"It'll be somebody else's windows," he said. "And it'll be someone accosted on the street. And each level of that ratchets up."