Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)
Preventing and prosecuting hate crimes is a top priority for the Justice Department. Hate crimes instill fear across communities and undermine our democracy. In one of his first acts, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a directive to the Department to conduct a 30-day expedited internal review to determine how the Department could deploy all the tools at its disposal to counter the recent rise in hate crimes and hate incidents.
On May 27, 2021, following the review’s completion and the passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, the Attorney General issued a memorandum announcing immediate steps to deter hate crimes and bias-related incidents, address them when they occur, support victims, and reduce the pernicious effects these incidents have on our society. Since then, the Department has aggressively implemented the Attorney General’s directives to increase resources to combat hate crimes through federal law enforcement action and to enhance training, support and outreach to state and local partners.
Combating Hate by Investigating and Prosecuting Hate Crimes
- Pursuing Hate Crimes Prosecutions: Since January 2021, charged 150 defendants in over 135 cases and secured more than 125 convictions of defendants charged with bias-motivated crimes.
- Elevating Hate Crimes Threat Level: Elevating civil rights violations and hate crimes enforcement for prioritization among the FBI’s 56 field offices.
- Expediting Review of Hate Crimes: Designating the chief of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division to serve as a facilitator for the expedited review of hate crimes.
- Enhancing State and Local Law Enforcement Training: Launching a new training on investigating hate crimes. This training was developed in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and other subject matter experts. It builds on the training the COPS Office released in 2022 on recognizing and reporting aimed at line-level officers. This training is provided for free to state, local, tribal, territorial, and campus law enforcement agencies via the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services technical assistance program: https://cops.usdoj.gov/cri-tac.
Improving Hate Crimes Reporting
- Increasing Hate Crimes Reporting: Launching the United Against Hate program in all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to help improve the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents by teaching community members how to identify, report, and help prevent hate crimes and encouraging trust building between law enforcement and communities. The Department has held more than 550 events and over 18,500 people have participated.
- Helping Agencies Report Accurate Hate Crimes Data: Providing funding and free technical support to assist law enforcement agencies transition from the old crime data collection system to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the only way for state and local agencies to submit crime data, including hate crime data, to the FBI. Conducting outreach to police chiefs, law enforcement groups, and mayors to emphasize the importance of accurate hate crime data collection.
- Engaging State and Local Law Enforcement: Facilitating FBI-hosted regional conferences across the country with state and local law enforcement agencies and community organizations regarding federal civil rights and hate crimes laws to encourage reporting, strengthen relationships between law enforcement and local civil rights organizations, and build trust within the diverse communities they serve.
- Expanding Language Access: Designating an inaugural Language Access Coordinator to improve knowledge, use, and expansion of the department’s language resources and adopting an updated Language Access Plan.
- Increasing Language Access for Reporting Hate Crimes: Adding information to the department’s website on reporting hate crimes in 24 languages, including 18 of the most frequently spoken AAPI languages in the United States.
- Conducting an Awareness Campaign: Launching an FBI-led National Anti-Hate Crimes Campaign involving all 56 FBI field offices to encourage reporting. The campaign includes outdoor advertising, billboards, and radio streaming in addition to social media.
Shoring Up Resources to Combat Hate Crimes
- Coordinating Hate Crimes Resources: Designating a Deputy Associate Attorney General as the Department’s Anti-Hate Crimes Resources Coordinator.
- Designating Hate Crimes Coordinators: Designating Assistant U.S. Attorney Civil Rights Coordinators in every U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO).
- Strengthening USAO Access to Online Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention Resources: Creating an Online Toolkit for Combating Hate Crimes and Incidents, a one-stop shop providing USAOs with a comprehensive set of online prosecutorial resources. The Toolkit strengthens USAOs’ ability to lead hate crimes prevention efforts, providing them with customizable community outreach materials, including for the United Against Hate program, as well as technical assistance and grant information to share with community and law enforcement stakeholders.
- Conducting and Disseminating Research: Investing in new research and disseminating findings to improve hate crime prevention efforts; improve reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents; and understand and address the needs of victims of hate crimes and their communities.
- Awarding Grants: Awarding over $100 million in anti-hate grant funding over the last four years to law enforcement and prosecution agencies, community-based organizations, and civil rights groups to support outreach, investigations, prosecutions, community awareness and preparedness, reporting, hotlines, and victim services; as well as supporting research. Fostering collaboration and learning by hosting the first Hate Crime Grantee Conference for all Bureau of Justice Assistance hate crimes grantees in September 2024. Examples of these grant programs include:
Educating the Public and Law Enforcement on How to Protect Our Communities
- Strengthening the Community Relations Service: Revitalizing the Community Relations Service by, among other things, facilitating Protecting Places of Worship forums to provide interfaith communities with resources and information on securing their places of worship and help faith leaders build relationships with law enforcement.
- Hosting a Virtual Hate Crime Forum: Sharing information and resources with the public in a virtual hate crime forum on Department efforts to combat hate crimes and incidents and highlighting the successful launch of the nationwide United Against Hate Program. The forum included reflections from leaders of civil rights organizations on increased threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities across the country.
- Raising Awareness of the Rise in Hate Crimes During COVID-19 Pandemic: Publishing guidance with the Department of Health and Human Services to raise awareness of the rise in hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a surge of hate crimes and hate incidents against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, and share tips for law enforcement, government officials, and community-based organizations to prevent and respond to hate crimes.
- Combating Juvenile Hate Crimes and Identity-based Bullying: Designing a new Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying Prevention Curriculum for middle and high school-aged youth and the teachers, counselors, and others who work with them. This curriculum was informed by 19 roundtable discussions with youth across seven states, along with pilot testing in many communities. It is designed to empower young people to change attitudes and behaviors and make them less likely to engage in or be victimized by hate crimes or bullying. The curriculum is also designed to educate adults who work with youth about the potential use of online technologies to break down cultural barriers and bias.
- Clarifying the Use of Byrne JAG grants: Sending guidance to State Administrating Agencies to clarify that Byrne JAG grants can be used to increase patrols and deployments that bolster the security of at-risk nonprofit organizations, including synagogues, churches, mosques, and other places of worship.
More information about the Department’s response to hate crimes is available at https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.