Hate graffiti in Kitchissippi on the rise
By Jesse Winter
Bart Everson/ Flickr Creative Commons
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Kitchissippi is leading the city in complaints of hateful graffiti this year, far outstripping any other ward in Ottawa.
An analysis of data from the City of Ottawa shows that with 18 reports so far this year, the neighborhood west of downtown is on pace to beat its mark from last year, with almost four times as many reports of hateful vandalism than anywhere else in the city.
Within the ward, the vandalism is mostly centered in Hintonburg. The latest incident was reported just last week, according to Hintonburg Community Association president Matt Whitehead.
“The community has really been monitoring it. I saw someone Tweet about it, but by the time I got there it was already down, in about 20 minutes,” Whitehead said.
Hateful graffiti made headlines in April when swastikas, “hail Hitler,” and other Nazi slogans were scrawled across a highway underpass in Hintonburg. At the time it appeared to be an isolated incident, but the city’s data suggests otherwise.
Whitehead said police are investigating the on-going concern. Ottawa police did not return calls for comment by press time, but Whitehead said he has a working hunch of his own.
“The swastikas and everything, it’s really poorly written. What I’ve seen of it is barely legible. It doesn’t seem to be someone trying to incite anything. I think it could be just a couple of kids trying to cause a stir,” he said.
The numbers might support that theory, said Leo Russomano, a lawyer and hate crime expert from Carleton Univeristy.
“The numbers are small enough to suggest that it could be the same group of people, not indicative of a larger trend. Actual hate speech is a relatively rare crime,” especially since the complaints are so localized, Russomano said.
According to the data, the citywide number of complaints about hateful graffiti has been trending downward over the past five years. Kitchissippi, on the other hand, has seen a sharp jump in the past two years. In 2010 that area of the city had only two complaints about hateful graffiti.
If that spike is the work of one culprit or a small group, that could complicate things, Russomano said.
First of all, catching someone in the act is almost the only way to prove who was behind it, he said. There’s also the issue of proving intent. In order to prosecute a hate crime, the Crown must prove that the graffiti was intended to incite fear in a particular group. The Nazi slogans in Hintonburg certainly lean that way, but the fact that they are sprayed on public property, not targeted at Jewish organizations or businesses is also a factor. Charging the wrong person can be very damaging, he added.
In 2012 Russomano represented Joe Lendore, an Ottawa youth who was charged with mischief in connection to swastikas spray-painted on a CF-100 fighter plan at the Canadian War Museum. Evidence against him was slim, and the charges were ultimately dropped, but not before Lendore’s name was dragged through the mud, Russomano said.
“This kid’s life was totally messed up because of it. All the cops had was a video of him looking at the graffiti,” Russomano said.
“A hate crime is a very serious, and very damaging event. It’s incredibly hurtful to the community, but the flip side is that it can also be very stigmatizing to those who are charged if they are actually innocent,” he said.
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