What makes a hate crime? New Western research hopes to help future lawyers decide

A team of researchers including professors and students from the Faculty of Law worked to develop Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crime Case Law Research Tool. (L to R) Sunil Gurmukh, Andrew Botterrell and Mona Soliman. (Source: Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)

A new tool developed at Western University is working to analyze case law on hate crimes, helping to aid in the reporting and prosecution of these crimes.

Hate crimes are when a criminal offense is committed against a person or property that is motivated at least in part by bias, prejudice or hatred. A variety of factors can be considered when a person is the target of a hate crime, including race, religion, sexual identity, and more.

This tool helps compile more than 15 years of case law in which judges have considered a subsection of the Canadian Criminal Code which requires judges to consider harsher penalties for hate crimes.

Fourteen factors are identified by the tool which serve as hate crime indicators. This can include anything from whether derogatory language was used, to whether the location targeted was known to be frequented by a persecuted group – such as a place of worship.

The implementation of this tool could inform not only the legal process, but also the training of lawyers and police.

“This case law points to the significant negative impact of hate crimes on individuals and entire communities,” said Sunil Gurmukh, law professor and law’s assistant dean. “Determining whether a crime is motivated by bias, prejudice or hate can be difficult for police and Crown prosecutors alike, so it’s important to have a legal resource to help them do that.”

The tool was developed in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF).

Not only is the tool one that could serve the legal system, but its development has helped inform the next generation of lawyers through it’s association with Western.

“It really struck me that it wasn’t one specific group being targeted in these cases. There were a wide range of people from all kinds of backgrounds experiencing hate,” said law student Mona Soliman. “Reading these cases was really difficult, but it was important to me to contribute to a tool that helps increase access to justice.”