No images? Click here Due to recent tragedies and the rising number of hate crimes in the United States, the Hate Crimes Training and Technical Assistance Program has gathered resources to help you protect your communities in this heightened threat environment. This bulletin is intended to identify resources to assist you and your community with preventing and detecting hate crimes and other criminal acts. We encourage you to share the information contained in this bulletin with your colleagues and community partners. U.S. Department of Justice Programs and Initiatives
U.S. Department of Justice—Reporting Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents Hate Incidents Even though a hate incident may not involve a crime, it is always important to report hate incidents. Documenting incidents is useful for identifying patterns and trends. Ignoring incidents may lead perpetrators to engage in more serious acts. Individuals who have experienced a hate incident:
Hate Crimes It is critical to report hate crimes not only to show support and get help for victims but also to send a clear message that the community will not tolerate these kinds of crimes. Reporting hate crimes and hate incidents allows communities and law enforcement to fully understand the breadth of the problem in the community and dedicate appropriate resources toward preventing and addressing attacks based on bias and hate. Individuals who have experienced a hate crime:
Suspicious Activity and Other Tips, Leads, and Threats to Life Reporting suspicious activity can help prevent crimes or terrorist attacks. The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) helps protect our communities by establishing a process whereby suspicious activity reports can be shared among agencies. NSI training increases the effectiveness of SLTT law enforcement and public safety professionals and other frontline partners in identifying, reporting, evaluating, and sharing pre-incident terrorism indicators to prevent acts of terrorism. A wide array of training resources are available, including:
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), along with the Global Advisory Committee (GAC) and the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC), recently released a package of resources to address Tips and Leads and Threats to Life. The resources were developed for federal, state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement agencies, school officials, and tip line operators to support the efficient and timely sharing of tips and leads (TL) and threat to life (TTL) information originating from tip lines and social media platforms. These resources
Targeted Violence and Counterterrorism Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks is a resource developed by the FBI that serves as a guide on assessing and managing the threat of targeted violence. It contains concrete strategies to help communities prevent these types of incidents. For information about how to respond to an active shooter event, consider the following resources:
US Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators informs law enforcement, terrorism prevention practitioners, other first responders, community leaders, as well as the public about both threats of violence and contextual behaviors that suggest an individual is mobilizing to violence. The National Threat Assessment Center (secretservice.gov) has research videos and resources to combat the ever-evolving threat of targeted violence impacting communities. Prevention and Detection The Community Relations Service serves as “America’s Peacemaker” for communities facing conflict based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. CRS provides facilitated dialogue, mediation, training, and consultation to assist these communities to come together, develop solutions to the conflict, and enhance their capacity to independently prevent and resolve future conflict. For detailed information that shows how CRS works with colleges and universities to prevent and respond to hate crimes and bias incidents, refer to this resource. The Violence Prevention Resource Guide provides an overview of resources that can support terrorism and targeted violence prevention efforts within local communities. The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) seeks to prevent acts of targeted violence and terrorism by working with the whole of society to establish and expand local prevention frameworks. Through technical, financial, and educational assistance, CP3 supports local efforts that prevent individuals from radicalizing to violence and intervene with individuals who may be radicalizing, or have radicalized, to violence. Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer’s Guide to Investigation and Prevention provides constructive information about the components of an effective police response to hate crimes. The Action Agenda for Community Organizations and Law Enforcement to Enhance the Response to Hate Crimes report contains action items to help break down barriers and strengthen trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve to enhance the prevention, reporting, investigation, and successful prosecution of hate crimes. The National Threat Evaluation and Reporting (NTER) Program equips homeland security partners with tools and resources to identify, report, and mitigate threats of terrorism and targeted violence to keep the Homeland safe primarily through two lines of effort: the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative and Behavioral Threat Assessment Integration. Training on targeted violence prevention,* focusing on threatening or potentially concerning behaviors and where to report them, is open to Federal, SLTT, and Private Sector Homeland Security Partners and Community Members. For additional information about threatening or concerning behaviors related to acts of targeted violence, refer to Behavioral Approach to Violence Prevention resource. Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Protection To assist law enforcement agencies in the ongoing protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties (P/CRCL), BJA, with the support of GAC and CICC, has developed a wide array of resources, including: First Amendment Online Training videos that are publicly available and designed to assist law enforcement personnel in:
Rethinking the Police Response to Mass Demonstrations encourages law enforcement agencies to broaden community engagement and identifies ways to foster trust with the communities they serve. To assist law enforcement agencies in the ongoing protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties (P/CRCL), BJA, with the support of GAC and CICC, has developed a wide array of resources, including:
Rethinking the Police Response to Mass Demonstrations encourages law enforcement agencies to broaden community engagement and identifies ways to foster trust with the communities they serve. Faith-Based Protecting Places of Worship Forum: Facilitator Guide for Community Leaders, provides community leaders with step-by-step instructions on how to plan and implement a Protecting Places of Worship Forum. The program engages federal law enforcement, local law enforcement, government officials, faith-based organizations, and forum participants in discussions and information sharing about methods for preventing and responding to violent incidents targeting places of worship. COPS Office Hate Crime Resources offers videos, toolkits, guides, sample policies, and effective approaches that law enforcement can use to lead the healing of distressed communities. Faith-Based and Volunteer Partnership Resources offers training and planning exercises to enhance the disaster preparedness – and response and recovery capabilities and capacity – of the voluntary, faith-based, and community partner organizations, staff, and volunteers. Targeted Violence and Counterterrorism Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks is a resource developed by the FBI that serves as a guide on assessing and managing the threat of targeted violence. It contains concrete strategies to help communities prevent these types of incidents. For information about how to respond to an active shooter event, consider the following resources:
US Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators informs law enforcement, terrorism prevention practitioners, other first responders, community leaders, as well as the public about both threats of violence and contextual behaviors that suggest an individual is mobilizing to violence. The National Threat Assessment Center (secretservice.gov) has research videos and resources to combat the ever-evolving threat of targeted violence impacting communities. |