Tool developed to aid in prosecution of hate crimes [Video]

Recognizing the need for user-friendly research support for prosecutors to find and analyze case law on hate crimes, researchers from Western’s Faculty of Law and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) teamed up to develop Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crime Case Law Research Tool. The goal of the new tool is to aid in the reporting and prosecution of this type of crime.

Hate crimes are criminal offences committed against a person or property that are motivated, in whole or in part, by bias, prejudice or hate. This motivation can be based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or similar factors. In Canada, hate crimes are addressed, in part, through subsection 718.2(a)(i) of Criminal Code, which requires judges to consider an increased sentence if a crime was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate.

This new tool provides insights and information on more than 15 years of case law and more than a hundred cases where judges have …