Local leads hate crimes awareness

Stephen Camp has dedicated his life to justice.

The St. Albert man has always had a passion for hate crime, and in 1991 he decided to do something about it by joining the Edmonton Police Service.

Camp had a keen interest in working with a hate-crime unit but quickly learned that wasn't an option.

"We had individuals involved in major crimes that would do a little bit of stuff at the side of their desk if a hate incident or hate crime occurred, but besides any kind of proactive hate crime unit or anybody with specialization in that type of criminality, there was nobody," he said.

Establishing a unit focused solely on hate crimes became Camp's mission – and in 2003 it became a reality.

"To me, personally, that was a great achievement," Camp said, adding the unit now has three full-time members.

"The hate crime unit is just one thing out of a number of community efforts to make sure this is an inclusive, safe place for anyone to live, whether you're white, black, Muslim, Christian or Jewish," he said.

Hate crimes are crimes motivated by hate towards an individual's race, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation. They can include things like assault, threats and vandalism.

When the unit was first established, officers were dealing with a spike in hate crimes toward Middle Easterners stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Camp said.

Statistics Canada began tracking the number of police-reported hate crimes in 2006, at which time Edmonton reported 30 hate crimes.

That number remained constant until dropping to 14 reported cases in 2011.

Although Camp no longer works with the hate crime unit – he's now with the homicide squad – he is still extremely involved in the world of hate crimes.

Camp spearheads the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee, which was created in 2001 to establish a framework for various organizations to collaborate on preventing and reacting to hate crimes.

The organization is now a national resource that police services from across Canada rely on for training and information.

"The committee has a group of really passionate people that feel that this type of criminality is something that needs special attention," Camp said, adding the passion from members is one of the reasons the committee has thrived.

Camp was recently named president of the committee.

Renee Vaugeois met Camp roughly eight years ago through her work with the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in Edmonton. The pair now works together on the committee.

"He's very passionate. I don't think I've met anyone ever who's as passionate about hate crimes, and in specific terms, the impact it has on our community," she said. "He's always got the best interests at heart in terms of the victim and the impacts that hate crimes have."

She said his background working with the Edmonton Police Service has given her insight into the struggles and dedication it takes to fight crime in the city.

"He's really helped me to understand the barriers and challenges that police face in terms of really being able to address issues at a really core, fundamental level," she said.

Building on his work with the Edmonton Police Service and the Alberta Hate Crime Committee, Camp now helps train police units from across the country, an activity Vaugeois said is extremely undervalued but vital.

"Steve is probably the lead in Canada in terms of awareness and understanding about hate crimes," she said. "I don't think we even understand the beauty and value of having this gentleman in our community."

Const. Ken Smith, a member of the hate crime unit, said hate crimes reached a new audience in recent years with the growing popularity of online chat rooms and forums, which provide individuals with more resources to spread hate.

However, only a small number of individuals using online hate forums will actually commit a hate crime.

"Most hate crimes committed are fuelled by alcohol and in-the-moment stuff," he said.

Camp now serves as a homicide detective with the EPS, but remains in close contact with the unit – in fact, the homicide and hate-crimes unit share the same floor at police headquarters.

This is a new challenge for Camp, who joined homicide about one year ago. At the time, Edmonton had a particularly high murder count, with 47 slayings by year's end.

This pushed the city well passed its 2005 record of 39 murders and put it in the top spot for Canada's murder capital.

"There wasn't many days off through the year," Camp said, adding there was immense pressure on members to solve the killings.

Despite the heavy demands, he stands by the assertion that he has a "fabulous" job.

"These persons have passed on and to be able to do the work for them that they couldn't do and (to) speak for them, it's nice," he said. "Their families are suffering an absolute tragedy in their lives. To find the perpetrator or perpetrators and bring justice to the community and the family is a really nice feeling."

He said the first 48 hours are the most crucial and can sometimes demand 20 to 24 hours of straight attention, leading to a gruelling 70-hour work-week.

"Work here, especially in homicide unit, keeps me very busy and the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee has really picked up steam in the last five years," he said, adding any down time is often spent preparing for the next awareness event.