Proposed Hate Crime Legislation Takes Important Steps But Could Go Further
Raised Bill 217 goes a long way toward standardizing the reporting and investigation of potential hate crimes in Connecticut and thus gaining a better understanding of the crimes being committed. We have some suggested amendments.
April 12, 2022 at 11:05 AM
3 minute read
CommentaryEvery year, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection's Crimes Analysis Unit compiles a report on hate crimes committed within the state. The report breaks out the number of offenses, incidents and victims associated with race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity, and identifies each type of hate crime committed, if any, in each of Connecticut's 169 towns. Roughly 10 years of data is tracked in the report, helping Connecticut understand where and against whom hate crimes are committed.
But the data is limited to what is designated as a hate crime, and this is inconsistent at best. Responding law enforcement officers must determine whether a reported incident qualifies as a potential hate crime, and if it does, that report is sent for a second-level review. Unfortunately, law enforcement officers are only required to receive a minimal amount of training in identifying and reporting hate crimes. This leads to some officers being unable to properly identify a reported incident as a potential hate crime. Moreover, incidents that ultimately do not quite rise to the level of a crime are lost from the system and do not show up in the annual report.
Raised Bill 217 goes a long way toward standardizing the reporting and investigation of potential hate crimes in this state and thus gaining a better understanding of hate crimes being committed. The bill would establish a Hate Crimes Investigative Unit (HCIU) within the Connecticut State Police which would be responsible for detecting and preventing hate crime activity, compiling, monitoring and analyzing data regarding such activity, and sharing data and information with local law enforcement to assist in the investigation of any hate crime activity.
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