As part of the $250,000 project, two Alberta-based non-government organizations will research the scope and impact of hate-motivated crimes and incidents in the province. With these crimes and incidents known to be under-reported, the research will focus on local communities to ensure all affected Albertans have the opportunity to be heard.
“All Albertans deserve to live free of fear and prejudice. This is why in this year’s speech from the throne, Alberta committed to investigating why hate and bias-motivated incidents are on the rise. I look forward to learning more about how we can more effectively fight these troubling trends while providing safety and security to our communities.”
“Our province will not sit idly by while the vulnerable among us are subjected to treatment that none of us deserve. We already have vital supports such as the Alberta Security Infrastructure Program and the Hate Crimes Community Liaisons, and I am confident the information provided by this important research will help us wield these tools even more effectively.”
The province is engaging Abdulkadir Abdi to coordinate the project. Experienced in community engagement and policing, Abdi will coordinate the various streams of field research and consolidate reporting components into a report to government that offers evidence-based recommendations. He will also make sure the project remains on task and on time.
The Alberta government is funding the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee and the Organization for Prevention of Violence to conduct independent field research and community engagement around this complex issue. Both Alberta-based organizations are active in research and prevention-based activities relating to hate-motivated crimes and incidents.
Alberta’s Hate Crime Coordination Unit will provide organizational support. As well, it will supply supplementary material from sources not typically available to public researchers, such as police data and information from the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.
Consultation with Alberta’s recently appointed hate crime community liaisons will occur throughout the project in order to facilitate engagement with communities.
Abdi will use the research and data to develop a report and recommendations on how to better reduce, respond to and assist survivors in recovering from hate crimes and incidents in Alberta. The report will be delivered to the province in early 2023.
Communities wishing to engage with researchers can contact the project via [email protected].