Peterborough Police Service Launches N0H8 Awareness Campaign To Combat Hate Crimes

/

The Peterborough Police Service has launched the N0H8 public education and awareness campaign; which aims to reignite awareness about hate bias and hate crimes, how people can report such incidents and the role of law enforcement.

photo courtesy of the peterborough police service, facebook.

This campaign serves as a commitment made by the Peterborough Police Service to address hate through the support of the Proceeds of Crime Grant. Additional commitments included training made available to sworn and civilian members of the Peterborough Police Service and the development of an online visual tool that will help give more understanding to what hate looks like in the community.

Throughout the work funded by the grant, the Peterborough Police Service has connected with a group of community partners to help understand the needs and landscape of hate/bias in the community. 

The goals of the campaign are to:

  • Raise awareness about what hate and/or hate incidents may look like in our community

  • Promote personal stories of courage and acceptance

  • Provide access to educational resources and community supports

  • Encourage more residents to report hate incidents through the Peterborough Police Service online reporting portal

“We are happy to be able to bring this N0H8 campaign to life in our community. Over the past five years, on average, 46 hate/bias incidents are reported to our service,” said Peterborough Police Chief Stuart Betts. “In 2024, more than half of those incidents resulted in charges. We are also aware that these types of incidents are underreported and that is why we are reaching out to the community to encourage more people to report. This may result in a spike of hate-motivated incidents/crimes being reported, which is to be expected with a campaign of this nature.”

A website has been created that offers information about resources, provides a definition of what a hate/bias crime or incident is and a direct link to the hate bias crimes/incidents online reporting form.

The Peterborough Police Service is encouraging residents, businesses and schools to participate in spreading the message of N0H8.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.