Hamilton police concerned as level of youth involved in violent crimes increases

Hamilton police say the level of young people involved in violent crimes is on the rise.

It comes as we have seen multiple homicides this year involving teen victims and subjects, as well as multiple instances of teens being in possession of dangerous weapons.

There have been nine homicides this year so far.

Four of the victims were teens, and two of the accused are just 14 and 25 years old.

Police say it’s a concerning trend that they’re trying to get under control, before we see more tragic incidents.

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“While youth crime isn’t necessarily increasing, the level of youths involved in violent crimes — whether victims or accused — is increasing at a growing trend,” said Hamilton Police Staff Sgt. Mike O’Hagan.

Hamilton police say since 2020, the amount of young people involved in violent crimes has increased by about 80 per cent year over year.

In 2024, there were 495 occurrences, while last year there were 544 — so far this year there have been 293.

“It’s very concerning for police — we don’t want anyone to be a victim of a crime, and we especially don’t want some of our most vulnerable in the city, our youth, to be victims of crime, or involved in a crime,” said O’Hagan.

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Just this year, Hamilton saw the shooting death of 16-year-old Nabil Askafe in Jackson Square in April, with the accused being just 14-years-old.

Then just over a week ago, 18-year-old Abdulmalek Shibli and 16-year-old Afef Binafif were killed in a shooting on the Stoney Creek Mountain, with their accused shooter being just 15-years-old.

Hamilton Police say they are actively working to intervene with youth in their communities to prevent them from going down the wrong path.

“We do that through community partnerships, whether it be with social services in the city, we’re also getting together with the school boards again to implement the school resource officer program back in the city again,” said O’Hagan. “It’s going to take time, we understand there are differing opinions on it, but we believe it’s important to build these relationships with not only community partners, but the youths and educators in our city.”

The Hub Hamilton actively works with youth in the city and says an important tool to getting them to accept support, are trusted community leaders.

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“Folks that have high social capital, folks that represent the communities that are being impacted the most and how can we encourage men to seek help when they need it, before a violent incident ideally and then also grief support,” said The Hub Hamilton director of services Liz Pfisterer, “when we’re talking about violent specific trauma and violence specific mental health services for men that have traditionally not felt safe entering a therapeutic space, and that doesn’t necessarily mean an office.”

One criminal psychologist says there are a variety of factors that could lead a young person to violent crime.

He says support and intervention before a young person enters the justice system is the key to success.

“The more contact a young person has with the criminal justice system — we really should be focusing on schools; schools are the perfect place to be intervening — a lot of these pathways to crime start really early, as early as primary school,” said Tyler Frederick, an associate professor of criminology at Ontario Tech University.

The City of Hamilton, for its part, is continuing to advocate for a Youth Wellness Hub to be established in the city.

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Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath says she will be going to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference this weekend to speak with the province about getting support.

“Before something that is a challenge for a young person becomes a crisis, there should be a place for them to go to get the support that they need,” said Horwath.

Hamilton police also said a common weapon young people are getting their hands on is bear spray.

They say they are working with the city to get a bylaw put in place that will prohibit the sale of bear spray in the city.

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