FANTINO: HATE CRIMES HAVE PEAKED SINCE NYC BOMBING

By Herman Silochan.

Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino speaks to members of the board of the Ethnic Press Council of Canada.

Speaking to members of the ethnic media on Thursday, Police Chief Julian Fantino assured them that the incidence of hate crimes in Toronto, which rose in the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing in New York City, has declined to a controllable level. "We are getting back to a sense of normalcy," said the Chief, "I believe that this community is at peace with itself, we must remember that Toronto is a tolerant peaceful environment."

Fantino along with officers from the Hate Crimes Unit acknowledged that hate crimes and vandalism rose significantly in the aftermath of the bombing. "We were fighting some serious battles, we had to pull people away from many other functions, work closely with the FBI, and to follow up on each complaint effectively looking at legitimate leads, but these were mixed with nuisance calls. All of Toronto's sixteen divisions stepped up their attention and I detect in the process a new sensitivity among officers."

"What was a rewarding experience for us, was when we went to visit synagogues, mosques and temples, that we established new lines of communications and also received assurances of cooperation, just as we gave them a sense of comfort. We also wrote to all the school boards, seeking their assistance in addressing the anxiety and concerns of visible minorities who, not only share in the horror of the events, but who may be consequently victimized. The reality was that we were stretched to the limit. September 11 showed us how fragile we all are."

He added as well, that nothing has been ignored by the police and officers, we are still concerned, are still vigilant, but we are now re-focused on City driven issues."

But when questioned by members of the African media about lack of police sensitivity towards black people before and after the bombing, Fantino said, "we have all been victimized." He repeated, "nothing has been ignored by police officers concerned and we are still vigilant."

Fantino was challenged again when he was asked, "have you sensitized the mainstream media about these ethnic concerns?" The Chief replied, "we have met their boards, but we haven't met recently."

The Chief was also asked to comment on his on going battle with the Police Association and its Chair, Craig Bromell, and if it was rendering him ineffective in carrying out his duties. "No it was not," he replied, "all this is mischief making, this is nonsense, an affront to the democratic process, people should not feel distracted, I intend to do my job, and to be totally accountable to the Police Services Board. I can't compromise my job, there is no person more vulnerable as I am, I am accountable to my officers and to the public. What is happening at the Police Association is the American Way, the confrontational way, this I find disgusting."

On Bill C-36, Fantino said, "the Bill gives law enforcement bodies the tools to handle terrorism. A lot of people will get paranoid, but there are enough checks and balances in the Act. The role of the police is to investigate, not to arrest, but to clear suspicions. Even without Bill C-36, when we get a lot of calls from the public about suspicions, we have to rely on experience and help from the public. You have my word that we are not going to be profiling people, we follow leads, but not pigeonhole categories.