Why 72% of police-reported hate crimes in Canada remain unsolved

Today, on Monday April 7, the human rights advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada is set to release its annual antisemitism audit, tracking what’s likely to be another record level of online hate speech, graffiti, threats, arson and gunshots targeting Canada’s Jewish community. Last year, the group revealed its highest ever tally: 5,791 incidents happened in 2023–double the year before. And while those numbers may seen surprisingly high, they did come during the surge in antisemitism on Canadian shores after Oct. 7.

But experts say that number doesn’t tell the whole story.

A new Statistics Canada report on hate crimes handled by Canadian police–4,777 total, including 900 hate crimes against Jews—contains some disturbing findings. According to the data, 72 percent of all hate crimes didn’t get solved in 2023, and more than half of all alleged suspects are known to police as repeat offenders. If there is any good news in the new report, Statistics Canada says that no one got hurt, in the vast majority of hate crimes against Jews in recent years, or 90 percent. Many were crimes of mischief against property, including synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.

So what do the numbers mean, and what message should Canadian Jews be demanding of politicians, law enforcement and the courts? On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we’re joined by two of Canada’s leading experts on police-reported hate crimes: from Statistics Canada, Warren Silver—himself a former Montreal police officer—and Mark Sandler, a criminal lawyer who chairs the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism.

Related links

• Read Statistics Canada’s new report on police-reported hate crimes for 2023 and early 2024.
• Why antisemitic hate crimes top the police charts in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.), while Jews in British Columbia report being victims of one or more antisemitic incidents.
• B’nai Brith’s annual audit of antisemitic incidents has surprisingly high numbers. How can this be? On The CJN Daily from 2023,

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Marc Weisblott (editorial director).
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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