Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2013: highlights

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• In 2013, police reported 1,167 criminal incidents in Canada that were motivated by hate, 17% or 247 fewer incidents than in 2012. The decline was mainly the result of a 30% decrease in non-violent hate crime incidents, primarily mischief.
• About half (51%) of police-reported hate crimes in 2013 were motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity. Another 28% were motivated by hatred of religion and 16% by hatred toward sexual orientation.
• Among hate crimes related to race or ethnicity, Black populations were the most frequently targeted (22% of all hate crimes) in 2013. For religion motivated hate crime, hate crimes targeting Jewish populations were the most common (16% of hate crimes of all types).
• Six in ten hate crimes in 2013 were non-violent. Mischief was the most commonly reported offence among police-reported hate crimes, making up about half of all hate crime incidents.
• Four in ten (40%) police-reported hate crimes in 2013 involved violent offences, such as assault, uttering threats and criminal harassment. Overall, the number of violent hate crimes increased 4% from the previous year, driven by increases in common assault and uttering threats.
• Nearly two-thirds (66%) of crimes motivated by hatred of a sexual orientation in 2013 were violent. This was also true for 44% of crimes motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity. Among religious hate crimes, 18% were violent.
• The majority of police-reported hate crime incidents in 2013 were concentrated in major cities (CMAs). While the 10 largest Canadian cities account for just over half (52%) of the population, they reported 71% of the hate crimes in 2013.
• The number of youth accused in hate-motivated non-violent incidents in 2013 decreased 65% compared to the previous year, mostly due to declines in youth accused of mischief. In contrast, the number of youth accused in violent hate-motivated incidents increased 8%.