New online tool for reporting hate crimes now available in Hamilton

Hamiltonians now have another option to report incidents. Two prominent anti-racism organizations collaborated and launched a community-based online tool. Advocates believe the new resource will likely capture a clearer picture of discrimination across the city.

Former head of the Hamilton Centre For Civic Inclusion (HCCI) Kojo Dampety says hate reporting is now in the hands of the community as a new public online tool, wesupporthamilton.ca is available to the public.

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On Monday morning at Hamilton city hall, Damptey and other platform contributors like McMaster’s Dr. Ameil Joseph, HCCI, and the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC) announced that the resource will not only paint a clearer picture of what’s happening in Hamilton but hold institutions to account when information is collected.

Dr. Joseph says, “A lot of these different reporting mechanisms, pathways, tools, don’t offer support, assistance in what might be best for you.”

With a click of a button, Hamiltonians can now fill out a form beginning with the date of the incident then followed by a description of it. In the event of someone capturing an incident with audio or video, the website has a feature where you can upload a file for them to review.

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The organizations say they aim to respond to reports within two days. They also expect to present the data collected at least twice a year. Damptey says, “HCCI and HARRC will be able to present the information to council and also have a conversation with Statistics Canada.”

Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath also applauds the launch, “we support the work that they’re doing, it’s exactly what we want to do is make sure that we’re getting expert information from people who know the community.”

Advocates say development began in 2019 during a time when the city saw violence at a Pride event in Hamilton. Two weeks ago, Hamilton police released its annual hate crime report which showed a 61 per cent increase in hate incidents from 2021 to 2022. Advocates believe these numbers are lower than what is happening in communities.

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Hamilton police tell CHCH News, “Any initiative that attempts to address hate in our city is always welcome and we look forward to working with HCCI and HARRC through their online tool.”

The organizations say they received donations and funding for the platform development, including a $15,000 grant from a federal charity.