MEDIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Delaware County officials want to crack down on hate crimes through a special resolution, as incidents across the county are on the rise.
Delaware County Council unanimously passed the non-binding resolution on Wednesday denouncing hate crimes, coming after a troubling spread of antisemitic materials in the county over the summer.
“We have had an uptick in incidents,” reported Council chair Dr. Monica Taylor. “There was an incident of letters being distributed around our county in one of our townships. There was also an issue of hateful stickers being placed on signs around another township.”
Taylor cites Anti-Defamation League data which shows a 65% rise in total hate crimes across Pennsylvania from last year.
“When we look at statistics across the country, across our commonwealth and in Delaware County,” Taylor said, “we wanted to make a statement.”
She says the resolution is not only meant to let the community know what’s going on and to take a stand against it, but also to raise awareness of the issue in Harrisburg.
“It also is asking for our state legislators to pass the package of anti-hate crime bills that I know our state delegation is in full support of,” she said.
“Our current Pennsylvania law is inadequate to prevent this surge in hate crimes that we’ve seen across our commonwealth and in our county. We want to make sure that we are on the forefront being leaders to protect those in our community.”