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13| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,June 7,2018 theifp.ca Halton regional police are looking for suspects in the two alleged graffiti in- cidents at Ethel Gardiner Public school, where ho- mophobic slurs were spray painted on the front of the building. Currently, the police are classifying the act as a mischief offence. Without surveillance cameras near the premises, there are no suspects at the mo- ment. The Halton District School Board has sent home letters to parents about the incident, ex- plaining that staff worked to quickly remove the graffiti. "We are very disap- pointed by this incident but remain hopeful that it is an isolated incident," said Debbie de Chastelain and Clark Lee, principal and vice principal, in the note. "However, the graffi- ti reminds us there is in- tolerance and phobia to- ward LGBTQ+ people in our communities." On Thursday, June 7 the school will be hosting Rainbow Day, where stu- dents are invited to wear rainbow colours in sup- port of LGBTQ+ pride and inclusion, and other Georgetown schools are invited to do the same. Chris D'Souza, an equi- ty and human rights strategist who teaches at Brock University, says that this is unnerving to know that there are peo- ple who would commit these acts in his neigh- bourhood. The Georgetown par- ent is a LGBTQ+ and hu- man rights advocate who works on a national level to see changes in the ways that educators approach rights. "I'm shocked and very, very dismayed," he said, explaining that it is argu- able whether or not legal- ly, this classifies as a hate crime. "I think there's still a complex reality around the fact that it's graffiti," he said. In his own perfect world, D'Souza says ev- eryone in Georgetown would fly the Pride flag to show solidarity. "I ordered my own flag," he said. "It's in the mail." NEWS Police investigating vandalism at Ethel Gardiner ALEXANDRA HECK aheck@metroland.com l MORE ONLINE Check out our range of social media channels serving up content from theifp.ca Crime rates and motor vehicle collision rates are on the rise in Halton Hills and Milton, according to the annual report re- leased by the Halton Re- gional Police Service for 2017. The report cites an in- crease in property crime (up 28.4 per cent to 2,362 from 1,839), violent crime (up 8.5 per cent to 777 from 716), other crime (up 2.6 per cent to 663 from 646) and motor vehicle colli- sions (up 11.8 per cent to 2,860 from 2,559) from 2016 to 2017. The total crime rate has increased by 13.7 per cent as a result. The "other crime" cate- gory includes prostitu- tion, gaming and betting, offensive weapons and other criminal code of- fences. This parallels the over- all hike in reported crime incidents in Halton Re- gion as a whole, which has increased to 12,092 from 10,657 from 2016 to 2017. When factoring in the re- gional population growth, the police reported a crime rate increase of 10.8 per cent. In the region, the high- est violent crime spikes are seen in the categories of attempted murder (up 400 per cent to five inci- dents from one), homicide (up 200 per cent to three incidents from one), sexu- al assault (up 48.8 per cent to 186 incidents from 125) and abduction/forcible confinement (up 45.5 per cent to 32 incidents from 22). While this data shows a recent increase in crimi- nal activity in the region, Halton has generally been experiencing a downward trend in its annual crime rate since the early '90s. For more information or to view the full report, visit https://www.halton- police.ca/. Crime rates on the rise in Halton Hills, Milton: Halton police Don't be a LitterBug! Please keep our community clean. Red Velvet Strawberry SwirlButter Cream SheridanNurseries 12266 Tenth Line | 905-873-7547 | sheridannurseries.com Tuxedo™ Weigela Moonrock™ Hydrangea Strobe™ Weigela Candelabra™ Hydrangea Maroon Swoon™ Weigela Flare™ Hydrangea Crimson Kisses® Weigela Plant, Water, Relax #2 pot, reg. $29.99 eachachg. $29.99 ee, rto#2 p 2498 achg. $29.99 ee, rto#2 p achg. $29.99 ee, rto#2 p 24249898each2424Yourchoice Happy Face® White Happy Face® Pink ParadiseHappy Face® Yellow Happy Face® Potentillas #1 pot, reg. $21.99 Sale prices in effect until Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 or while supplies last. 129812129898each Grown exclusively in Canada by Sheridan Nurseries Flowers throughout the entire summer and into the fall! #1 pot, reg. $17.991298each