Richmond anti-racism campaign encourages reporting, not recording

A campaign on the Lower Mainland is aiming to target acts of racism, by encouraging victims to report the occurrences to police.

Richmond is urging people to report when something happens and is also asking others to call police rather than pull out their phones and record what’s happening.

“Whether it’s a victim or witness, if it’s posted to social media … there’s no complaint generated,” said Richmond RCMP Chief Superintendent Dave Chauhan.

He points to a recent incident as an example, noting when a man was recorded hurling insults at two people speaking in a language other than English.

“Then it becomes the subject of public discussion and public opinions. So that’s why we always encourage to phone the police, to contact the police right away so we can thoroughly investigate that right from the beginning,” Chauhan explained.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie says the City of Richmond’s Hate Has No Place campaign was prompted by the rise in hateful and racist acts over the course of the pandemic. While it “faded into the background” somewhat in recent times, he notes there have been a number of incidents popping up that made him and others feel it was time to bring the campaign back.

He says it is a call to action.

“It’s important that if you’re the victim of such an incident, you witness such an incident, you don’t just leave it, you bring it to the attention of the RCMP. And whether or not it’s a criminal offence, they will deal with it and try and mediate the solution,” he said.

“Don’t ignore it, don’t just walk away, report it.”

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From insults to assaults, racist or hateful rhetoric and incidents — especially those directed at people of Asian descent — have often made headlines through the pandemic.

Brodie says the community in Richmond does not accept racist or hateful acts, adding they have to stop.

“The fact is that if you bring it to the attention to the RCMP and the authorities, then they can work with the victims and probably work with the perpetrators really to educate as to how unsatisfactory that is,” the mayor explained.

“Most often it’s not going to arise to the level of being a criminal offence but there is a real value in educating the public that these kinds of incidents do happen and that we should not ignore them.”

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While the RCMP has said such acts spiked during the first two years of the pandemic, investigators have seen a declined through this year.

Despite this, Chauhan’s message is clear.

“Hate is not tolerated here. That on top of the number of investigations where we have taken to the court process — the message out there is clear,” he said, adding community engagement is ongoing.

Advocates for marginalized people have repeatedly noted that members of BIPOC communities are often unlikely to report instances of crime to police.