Majority of surging hate crimes in Toronto are antisemitic: Police Chief

Citing the crisis in the Middle East as an ongoing factor, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said the city continues to see disturbing surges in hate crime calls, with the majority being antisemitic in nature.

Chief Demkiw provided an update Monday on hate crime and vehicle theft statistics – saying both are on the rise and remain a focus for Toronto Police.

“It has been 163 days since the Middle East crisis began, and the impact of the geopolitical unrest abroad continues to affect people worldwide, including in Canada and right here in Toronto,” Demkiw said in a release. “We are laser focused on the task at hand: keeping the city safe.”

So far this year, Demkiw said there have been 84 confirmed hate crimes, up 83 per cent over last year.

Most of them (56 per cent) have been antisemitic.

“Last month saw the highest number of antisemitic occurrences in the last three years,” Demkiw grimly noted.

Since October 7, 2023 hate crimes have risen 93 per cent year over year and Toronto Police have attended 989 hate crime calls.

“While we saw a reduction in calls for service for hate crimes in December and January, we have seen a significant increase in February, with a 67 per cent rise in calls,” said Demkiw.

The second highest bias category for hate crimes in 2024 target the 2SLGBTQI+ communities, followed by anti-Black, and anti-Muslim/Arab/Palestine.

“While under reporting of all forms of hate crimes is a concern, I know from talking to people in the community that Islamophobia is a significant concern, and given our statistics I am concerned about significant under-reporting in this regard,” the Chief added.

34 vehicles stolen per day last year

The plague of vehicle thefts have dominated local news headlines and Demkiw confirmed just how bad the problem is in Toronto, with startling statistics showing that more than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto last year. That amounts to 34 vehicles a day, or one vehicle stolen every 40 minutes.

“We have had 68 carjackings so far 2024. That’s a 106 per cent increase compared to the same period last year,” said Demkiw.

“We are putting a significant amount of resources to address this citywide, and have seen an escalation of violence, threats and intimidation, where weapons are being used to steal vehicles.”

“Break and enters for auto thefts continue to rise. There have been 34 incidents so far this year compared to 22 for all of last year,” he added.

Toronto Police recently absorbed a slew of criticism after providing what some considered questionable advice on how to safeguard against break-ins for vehicle theft.

At an Etobicoke safety meeting last month, Cst. Marco Ricciardi advised residents to leave their key fobs in a faraday pouch in a convenient place for thieves as a way to lessen the risk of violent confrontations.

“To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your fobs at the front door because they are breaking into your home to steal your car; they don’t want anything else.”

The story gained international attention, and Toronto Police later seemed to backtrack, saying that while “well-meaning” there are numerous other ways to prevent auto theft motivated home invasions.