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"Preventing Hate and Keeping You Up to Date"
February 2024
The Hate Crimes Training and Technical Assistance Program Newsletter Preventing Hate and Keeping You Up to Date is a monthly summary of research, articles, site highlights, and more. This publication is provided for program awardees' and project partners' information and awareness. Please contact info@hatecrimestta.org to submit a success story or resource for consideration in the newsletter.
General News
Schools Are 3rd-Highest Location for Hate Crimes: FBI
According to a recent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report, schools in the United States ranked as the third-highest location for hate crimes in 2022, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all reported hate crimes. The report highlighted that secondary schools, covering preschool to 12th grade, experienced the highest number of hate crimes between 2018 and 2022. Specifically, in 2022, there were over 1,300 reported hate crimes occurring at elementary/secondary schools and college campuses, with 890 of them taking place at elementary/secondary schools.
Madison Police Department Creates New Hate Crimes Task Force
The Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department has created a new Hate Crimes Task Force to help identify and prevent hate crimes. The task force was proactively formed to address bias-motivated threats, harassment, and violence throughout Madison. The task force includes members of the investigative, community outreach, and records units.
Feds Seek Death Penalty for Buffalo Gunman, Citing Attempt to Incite Others
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would seek the death penalty for Peyton Gendron, who, in May 2022, carried out a racially motivated shooting at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, resulting in the deaths of 10 people.
The site of an alleged Seattle, Washington, hate crime was turned into a work of art to help the community. Nine windows destroyed in a sledgehammer attack in September 2023 at the Wing Luke Museum now display a brightly colored pheasant, a symbol of strength and beauty.
In a notable shift toward addressing hate crimes, cities and states across the nation are implementing stricter laws and penalties, reflecting a growing commitment to combating this issue:
- KC City Council Enacts Hate Crime Ordinance—The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed a hate crimes ordinance and penalties for hate crime offenses within the municipality.
- Mount Pleasant Passes Hate Crime Ordinances—Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, became the fifth community in its state to enact harsher penalties for hate crimes. Penalties for violating the ordinance include fines of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail.
- Carmel, Indiana—Mayor Jim Brainard issued an executive order defining anti-Semitism and forcefully condemning prejudice, hate speech, violence, and acts of aggression against Jewish people.
Site Highlights
Los Angeles PD’s Online Reporting Website Adds ‘Hate Incident’ Category Amid Rise in Hate Crimes
The Los Angeles, California, Police Department (LAPD) is enhancing its online reporting system to encourage more people to report hate crimes in southern California. LAPD Chief Michel Moore stated that many hate crimes go unreported, and they aim to provide an additional avenue for the public to convey these instances.
Trenton Lawmaker Hopes to Get $100k Ad Campaign to Fight Anti-Semitism in New Jersey
New Jersey State Senator Jim Beach has introduced a bill to establish a state-specific definition of anti-Semitism in line with international criteria. Another bill introduced will allocate $100,000 to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for a public awareness campaign to educate residents about bias crimes and the importance of reporting them. The campaign will use the state’s bias crime reporting hotline, operated by the New Jersey Bias Crimes Reporting Unit, as a key tool for community members to report incidents.
Macomb County, Michigan, Prosecutor’s Office Wins $800K Grant to Battle Hate Crimes
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office has secured an $800,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund a hate-crime assistant prosecutor. This grant, provided through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program, will support the appointment of a principal trial attorney. The funds will also be allocated for initiatives aimed at charging individuals driven by bias, primarily race, and enhancing awareness and education about hate crimes.
Man Who Launched “Not In Our Town” Slogan on Store Sign Looks Back, 30 Years Later
Rick Smith, who coined the phrase Not In Our Town (NIOT) in 1993, reflects on the movement’s origins, inspired by a cinder block thrown through the window of a Jewish family in Billings, Montana. This grassroots initiative evolved into a book, documentary, and television series. Today, the NIOT organization diligently upholds the mission of working together for safe, inclusive communities, employing a comprehensive multi-platform approach encompassing documentaries, television programming, social networking, outreach, and organizing efforts.
Special Interest
3 Actions for Cities Fighting Antisemitism and Islamophobia
Mayors met to address the rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes amid the Gaza conflict. Deputy Associate Attorney General Saeed Mody urged cities to start tracking hate crimes, highlighting that many police departments, including some serving large populations, do not report such incidents to the federal government.
New York’s Schools Chief Defended Students Accused of Antisemitism—Now He Has a Plan to Defeat It
David Banks, the chancellor of New York City Public Schools, outlined a plan to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the nation’s largest school district amid a surge in discrimination and hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims since early October.
FBI Says Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Less Reported in 2022, but What Does That Mean?
Recently released data from the FBI showed a drop in the number of reported anti-Asian hate crimes in recent years. Still, researchers and advocates say it’s an incomplete picture of what Asian Americans are experiencing. An FBI spokesperson acknowledged that a drop in the number of reported hate crimes does not directly translate to a decrease in anti-Asian sentiments. Many of the incidents reported to federal authorities do not rise to the level of what is legally considered a hate crime, including reports of offensive language, which the First Amendment protects.
The Most Effective Way to Reduce Hate Crimes
An editorial from The Atlantic suggests the most effective way to reduce hate crimes is by treating these offenses as a crime through the criminal justice system and not by prosecuting the bias. Policy responses have often centered on addressing hate and bigotry directly, with initiatives like anti-bias education and online content moderation. However, research suggests that many hate crime offenders also have extensive criminal histories and may commit these crimes impulsively. A significant challenge lies in the underreporting of hate crimes, often due to a lack of public understanding about what constitutes a hate crime and fears about reporting. To combat this, better coordination, funding, and education are needed to prioritize hate crime prosecution and address individual offenders.
The editorial mentions initiatives to combat hate, such as increased online hate policing advocated by The Anti-Defamation League and Human Rights Campaign, New York State’s $25 million funding for organizations vulnerable to hate crimes, and Michigan State University’s bias reduction efforts through facilitated group discussions.
Upcoming Training Events
Trauma Across the Lifespan of Mass Violence Survivors & Impacted Communities
This webinar is a virtual town hall on trauma across the lifespan of mass violence survivors and impacted communities. At the conclusion of the town hall, attendees will be able to describe types of traumas that may impact mass violence victims, survivors, and impacted communities and the range of traumatic reactions and identify evidence-based strategies to help those impacted by mass violence.
February 22, 2024
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., ET
Identifying Roles and Responsibilities of Victim Services
Office for Victims of Crime Fellow Amy Durall and Meg Garvin, executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, will host a discussion on law enforcement-based victim services. Information from this webinar can help participants understand service provision models, victim services personnel role parameters, and legal statutes related to communication with victims and co-victims.
February 29, 2024
3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m., ET
This project was supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-21-GK-02977-HATE awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART).
Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
