WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is urging Connecticut municipalities to apply for funding that's now available under the No Hate Act to improve hate crime-related education and law enforcement.
The Jabara-Heyer No Hate Act allocates $26 million in federal funding to fight hate crime. According to Blumenthal, $5 million are set aside for states and municipalities. The other $21 million will be going toward the Department of Justice's Community Relations Service which provides resources for communities facing discrimination-based conflict.
President David Waren of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford stressed this kind of funding is needed given the recent rise in hate crime and the expansion of hate groups across the country.
The legislation "enshrines in law the means to improve hate crime reporting and assistance to victims. It provides training and education to law enforcement to identify and investigate hate crimes and the means of rehabilitation of perpetrators through education and community service," Waren said.
According to Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Connecticut Regional Director Stacy Sobel, the federal funding can help police departments and organizations with data collection in order to better combat hate crime.
However, she explained that municipalities and residents also play a critical role in this fight. She cited an incident in which a white supremacist group known as the New England Nationalist Social Club distributed hateful flyers in West Hartford.
"Many of these white supremacy groups do require that their members perform incidents of 'stickering' and 'flyering.' We are going to see this as these groups gain a foothold. We are going to see more of these incidents and it is crucial that these incidents are reported and recorded so that we have the data to be able to fight as a community," Sobel said.
West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick agreed with Sobel, calling this kind of collaboration the epitome of community policing.
"We need the public's help with this... You have to notify us," Riddick said.
He explained data about hate incidents can help in creating a more detailed H.E.A.T map that would show where the incidents are occurring.
ADL has a H.E.A.T map on its website, Sobel said, as well as a "Report an Incident" button at the top of the website.
Though there can be fear or shame on a municipal level associated with reporting such incidents, Waren said he hopes this legislation will encourage more people to report hate crimes/incidents so as to support these new resources.