How Law Enforcement Leaders Can Make a Difference Combating Hate Crime

On October 27th at 9:50 am, a lone gunman entered the Tree of Life Synagogue and began shooting and killing Sabbath worshipers.  After a few minutes, the shooter attempted to exit the building and engaged in a gun battle with law enforcement, shooting two Pittsburgh police officers.  He retreated into the building and was eventually confronted by a small contingent of SWAT officers.  The suspect shot two more police officers in another gun battle and was then arrested.

The suspect killed eleven members of the Tree of Life Synagogue and injured two.  The suspect shot four Pittsburgh police officers.

This incident is now widely referred to as the Squirrel Hill mass shooting.

A hate-filled Anti-Semitic committed this shooting, which targeted Jewish people at the synagogue.  According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Squirrel Hill shooting was the single most deadliest shooting targeting the Jewish community in the history of the United States.

The shooter’s social media postings contained many hate-filled and Anti-Semitic statements.  He also told the police officers that he was trying to kill as many Jews as he could.

This incident is a stark reminder that hate is still alive and well even in 2018.  This shooting also sparks a question.

What role does law enforcement play in combating hate crime?

DOJ Law Enforcement Roundtable on Improving the Identification and Reporting of Hate Crimes

As fate would have it, the Department of Justice had previously invited law enforcement leaders from across the country to this important roundtable event on October 29^th and 30^th.  I was fortunate enough to be one of the attendees.

With the heavy cloud of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting hanging over all of us, this important meeting began with a moment of silence honoring and remembering the victims.

I’m not going to try and summarize all that happened at the roundtable.  Instead, I will try and hit the relevant highlights.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced an $840,000 grant to the University of New Hampshire to conduct a survey about hate crime and victimization.  Also, Rosenstein announced that 10 million dollars in technical assistance grants are now available to prosecute and prevent hate crimes.

Rosenstein also announced a new Hate Crimes website for law enforcement, prosecutors, community organizations and researchers.

Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein said, “The tragic attack on the Pittsburg Tree of Life synagogue two days ago serves as a stark reminder of the need to protect all Americans against hate crime.  In mourning the victims today, we also commit ourselves to preventing future attacks.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, John Gore, shared his thoughts.  “Individuals should be able to live their lives free from the threat of violence and discrimination, no matter who they are, what they believe, or how they worship.”

Other speakers provided information on the investigation of hate crimes by law enforcement, the reporting of hate crimes by law enforcement and the barriers to both.  We examined best practices for hate crime investigations and reporting across the country.  We also had many frank discussions about potential solutions as well as the challenges.

One of the most poignant moments of the one and one-half day roundtable was when Dennis and Judy Shepard shared the heart-wrenching story of the death of their son, Matthew.  Matthew’s death and his parent’s advocacy led to the passage of the Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, eleven years after his death.

Their tragic story and passion for helping to combat hate moved all of us.

After this roundtable, I thought about what I could do to combat hate crimes.  I also thought about what we as law enforcement leaders could do.

Here are a few things I believe all of us can do.

Treat People With Respect

Law enforcement leaders have a duty and responsibility to treat those we serve fairly and not make any decision to believe, act, interview, search, arrest or anything else based on a person’s race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender or for any other inappropriate reason.

We should base our decisions on facts.

That responsibility is exercised inside our agencies by having good policies, by enforcing those policies and by practicing the principles of procedural justice.

We should treat all people we contact with dignity and respect.  Those individuals we come in contact with deserve to be able to explain their point of view; to have a voice during these encounters. We should remain neutral at all times and avoiding expressing an opinion before gathering all the facts.  Our actions and words should convey trustworthy motives beyond reproach.

If we can practice these principles, we will gain the trust of the communities we serve and a barrier to reporting hate crime will be removed.

Make Investigating Hate Crimes a Priority

A proper investigation of a hate crime starts with a good policy.  A perfect place to get a good hate crime policy is on the International Association of Chiefs of Police Policy Center website.  A word document is available that can be adopted and changed for the needs of your department and any applicable law.

There is also a concepts and issues paper on the website that provides a great deal of relevant background information on the policy.

A good hate crime policy is only useful if it is followed and it is only followed if the culture of the department emphasizes and encourages the proper identification and investigation of hate crimes.

Some naysayers might suggest that any crime motivated by bias is still a crime and should be prosecuted for the underlying offense.  However, few could argue against the disparate impact a hate crime has with the larger group the victim is associated with.

The Tree of Life Synagogue shooting is an excellent example of how a bias crime committed against an individual that is part of a specific group can negatively impact those in the larger group.  In this case, Jews.  Although this hate crime happened in Pittsburg, it adversely affected Jewish people across the nation.  Security was ramped up at Synagogues all over the country and Jews were anxious and afraid to attend their local synagogue.

Report Hate Crime to UCR

Once a thorough investigation has been completed, and the crime has been identified as a hate crime, the next step in the process is to report it to UCR.

According to the 2016 Hate Crimes UCR report, approximately 97% of departments submitted hate crime data.  Unfortunately, 88% of those departments that submitted data reported zero hate crimes.

A total of 6,121 hate crime incidents were reported with 7,615 victims.  Some of the largest agencies in the country with a population over 1 million reported zero hate crimes.  Some of these agencies did not even report.  Can that really be accurate?

Contrast this data with the National Crime Victimization Survey, which reports an average of 250,000 hate crimes per year between 2004-2015.

Hate crimes must be appropriately reported to UCR.

Pass Hate Crime Legislation in Every State

Five states have no hate crime law.  Those states are Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Wyoming, and Indiana.  Georgia previously passed legislation, which was struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004.

New hate crime legislation was introduced in the 2018 legislative session in Georgia, but it failed to pass.  The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as many law enforcement leaders across the state, supported the passage of this legislation.  Unfortunately, the bill failed to gain enough legislative support.

Law enforcement leaders in each of these five states should use their influence with their state legislators to get hate crime legislation passed.

We are really out of excuses.

Conclusion

In the beginning, I asked what law enforcement leaders could do to combat hate crime.

If we genuinely want to move the needle against hate crime, we must have a plan.  It will not happen by accident.

Law enforcement leaders must invest in training their officers to recognize a hate crime when reported.  They must also train their investigators in the nuances of hate crime investigations.

A good hate crime policy is essential and so is having a culture where citizens are treated with respect, and the identification and investigation of hate crimes is a priority.

Each hate crime must be accurately reported to UCR.  For the most impact, each state must enact effective hate crime legislation.

All of these measures can and will contribute to law enforcement’s effort to make a difference in combating hate crime.

(Photo courtesy of https://todaytesting.com)

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