We need better laws to counter hate crimes
National, state and local crime data for 2023 indicate a dramatic rise in hate and bias crimes, especially involving victims of Jewish, Muslim, Asian and LGBTQ+ backgrounds. Communities are hurting and scared.
In reckoning with how we as a nation and as individual communities respond to growing hate and violence, our leaders must do all that we can. Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced her unwavering support for the Hate Crimes Modernization Act, or HCMA, which I’m proud to endorse along with numerous lawmakers and district attorneys in New York.
While the state of New York already has robust hate crime laws in comparison with many other states, our laws have not always allowed prosecutors to charge a hate crime, even when hate is clearly present. This bill addresses some of the challenges prosecutors have seen in cases where some acts are unquestionably motivated by hate.
What will the HCMA do in New York?
The HCMA proposes expanding the list of eligible offenses in New York for prosecution as hate crimes, adding 31 new offenses, including graffiti, gang assault, sexual abuse, jostling and falsely reporting an incident. This means that the forcible touching of a person’s intimate parts for the purpose of degrading them based on their sexual orientation or country of origin, for example, could now be charged as hate crimes. Under the proposed law, graffiti containing racist or antisemitic slurs would be hate crimes, and it is this conduct that we most frequently see. Indeed, just Thursday, stores in a Westchester shopping center were defaced by antisemitic graffiti, leaving the community angry and scared. The expansion of the HCMA would make this graffiti a hate crime, providing an appropriate charge for an offense that was so brazenly motivated by hate. Additionally, the proposed amendments emphasize the seriousness of one of the most common problems of unwanted physical contact based upon hate by calling it what it is — bias harassment. It makes clear that physical contact based upon belief or perception of membership in a protected class will not be obscured by a more general label of “aggravated harassment.”
In other words, the HCMA would remedy important gaps in our laws. Properly classifying offenses as hate crimes in a way that reflects the unique pain and trauma that they inflict, not only upon the individual victims but on entire communities, is key to fighting them.
How else can we address hate in New York?
Of course, laws are only part of effectively addressing hate. At the Westchester DA’s Office, our Hate Crimes Unit’s dedicated ADA and criminal analyst have been successful in strengthening our collaborations with schools, community organizations, and local government. We have extremely strong partnerships with law enforcement committed to tackling these issues and building bridges of trust with impacted communities through education and advocacybased engagement. We offer in-school “upstander” and identity-based bullying trainings as a regular part of our community outreach efforts.
Last fall, the Hate Crimes Unit also conducted a first-of-its-kind hate crimes training on improving public safety responses to hate- and bias-motivated incidents, which attracted more than 300 law enforcement professionals and prosecutors across the Hudson Valley, the New York metro area and four states. In 2022, Westchester County established a law enforcement data-sharing portal for the reporting of hate crimes and bias incidents by the more than 40 police agencies in this suburban county of approximately 1 million in population just north of The Bronx. The online portal allows investigators to study potential trends and crime patterns related to hate crimes and bias incidents, and helps law enforcement proactively address public safety matters.
Modernizing legislation, utilizing data and increasing accessibility to educational resources serves the best interest of the public in an effective and transparent manner. Not only can this encourage reporting of hate and bias incidents and crimes in the communities we serve, but it can also ameliorate the impact of hate in our communities.
This is a critical moment for how we approach hate crimes and how we address the serious and debilitating fear these crimes strike in our communities. More than anything, we cannot be silent. Those who do not want hate to spread nor their neighbors to live in fear must use their voices to denounce and report hate and bias, and demand for better laws like the HCMA. We must ensure that this nationwide increase in hate and bias does not become our new norm.
Miriam E. Rocah is the District Attorney for Westchester County, New York. Catalina Blanco Buitrago is Senior Assistant District Attorney and the Hate Crimes Coordinator who leads the Westchester County DA’s Office’s Hate Crimes Unit.