The Justice Department’s First Initiative to Combat Hate Crimes in the Western U.S.: Action Plan for a New Attorney’s Office
In the five months following a mass shooting in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket, the Justice Department has launched a new initiative to combat hate crimes.
As part of the initiative’s programming, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will begin to engage with communities across Western New York — in hopes that deepening connections in the community will encourage them to report acts of hate.
The department is committed to holding people accountable if they engage in unlawful acts of hate, according to the assistant attorney general.
The new initiative, which kicked off in Western New York, is a broader effort by the Justice Department that it plans to launch across all 94 United States attorneys’ offices over the next year.
” This type of race-based hate is not acceptable in this community or in our society, it will not be forgiven, stated Trini E. Ross, US Attorney for the Western District of New York.
The Buffalo community is skeptical about the Justice Department’s vision for the initiative despite its infancy stages.
James Ponzo II, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Buffalo, toldNPR that any type of program is a start to addressing hate crimes.
“But far too often, which we already know, things seem to start but then stall and die out,” he said. “Time will tell whether or not it’s really effective or whether it’s a publicity stunt.”
New York State has a New Unit to Investigate Hate Crimes and Bias in the Public Communal Space, as Conformally Known as “Hate”
“For me, it’s kind of weird for a legal system to define what a hate crime is to me. Because for me, I see a hate crime is just being denied a loan to get a house — I feel like that’s rooted in hate,” Hill told NPR.
In May, the Justice Department announced a series of new guidelines and $10 million in new federal grants to help states develop hotlines for reporting incidents.
In August, Governor Hochul made a $10 million pledge to help counties develop their threat assessment management teams.
A team of people will decide whether to send an official alert after a hate crime or racist incident is reported. Those notices will be sent to 167 Black elected statewide officials in Maryland, along with national civil rights organizations, clergy members and other leaders.
During a speech last week, Hochul said the new unit will be responsible for focusing on education, an early warning detection system in local communities and mobilizing a response in areas where a hate crime or bias-related incident took place.
Housed under the state’s Division of Human Rights, the initiative is charged with organizing 10 regional councils across New York state made up of local stakeholders, according to officials.
The councils will aim to provide a place for community members to voice concerns, organize educational programming, conduct trainings in conflict resolution and facilitate the filing of complaints with the Division of Human Rights.
“New York State will use every tool at its disposal to eliminate hate and bias from our communities,” Hochul said. “We will not let the rise in hate incidents that we see happening online, across the country and across the world, take root here at home.”
“We cannot allow ignorance, fear, and hatred to damage the enormous amount of work we’ve done to move our state forward,” Delgado said in a news release.
He said, “Love always prevails over hate and the partnerships that we’re building in communities and throughout the state will ensure that is true.”
One of the bills that Hochul signed last month required people convicted of hate crimes to be trained on hate crime prevention and education, and the other supports a statewide campaign to promote acceptance and tolerance of New Yorkers.
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However, with the rollout of new legislation and new initiatives, some experts say they’re a bit skeptical about how exactly this will play out across the state.
“It’s exciting to see the governor working on this, but we’re a little bit in the dark on how it’s going to shake out,” said the director of strategic projects at Jews for Racial.
In order to address the state’s hate crimes and acts of violence, a shift in focus is required, according to Hazel Dukes.
She said that we are not highlighting the work that is being done in their communities. “We have to start at an early age with curriculum in schools — to show all people, all cultures that have contributed to this country and to the world that make it a better place.”
The alerts will be sent to 167 Black elected statewide officials in Maryland, along with national civil rights organizations, clergy members and other leaders.