Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer addressed the 2024 Hate Crimes Grantee Conference, organized by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The event brought together grantees of the Justice Department’s hate crime grants, including law enforcement agencies, states, community-based organizations, and national civil rights organizations.
Mizer expressed gratitude to Houston Police Department Senior Officer Jamie Byrd-Grant and Judy and Dennis Shepard for their advocacy following the murders of their loved ones in 1998. He highlighted the impact of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law 15 years ago.
Mizer acknowledged progress but emphasized that more work is needed to ensure safety for all. "The latest FBI hate crime statistics released on Monday demonstrate just how much work remains to do," he said. The statistics revealed a record number of hate crimes in 2023, with significant increases in anti-Black or African American, anti-Latino, anti-Arab, anti-Jewish, and anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The Justice Department is committed to combating hate crimes through prosecutions and financial support. Mizer cited a recent case where two leaders of the Terrorgram Collective were charged with soliciting users to commit hate crimes.
The Office of Justice Programs will award nearly $30 million this year to various entities to combat hate crimes. This includes almost $12 million through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Program for local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices.
For example, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Police Department will launch a project educating about hate crime prevention across its system. The 9th Circuit State Attorney’s Office in Orlando will establish an online complaint system for reporting hate crimes and provide mediation and mental health services.
Through the Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crime Program, over $7.6 million will be awarded to community-based organizations. Projects include a preparedness program by Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization for religious congregations and No al Odio’s outreach strategy with Hispanic communities in California.
To improve reporting and access to services for victims, $1.1 million under the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act State-Run Hate Crime Reporting Hotlines will support Washington State Attorney General’s Office's new hotline.
Additionally, California and Illinois received similar grants last year resulting in active hotlines offering multilingual support services.
Research funding includes over $2.5 million for projects advancing understanding of law enforcement responses to hate crimes. The Emmett Till Cold Case Investigation Program awarded $1 million to Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office for investigating Jim Crow cold case homicides.
A new Coordinated Hate Crimes Resource Center has been launched with a $2.7 million award to RTI International alongside other subrecipients.
In June, the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Training Program announced a website providing resources on identifying and preventing hate crimes.
Two new trainings were also announced: one by the Office of Juvenile Justice on youth bullying prevention; another by the COPS Office on investigating hate crimes developed with experts from various fields.
Mizer emphasized community engagement as critical in combating hate crimes through programs like United Against Hate hosted nationwide by U.S Attorneys' Offices in partnership with FBI among others.
In conclusion Mizer reiterated commitment towards building partnerships aimed at rejecting bigotry saying “We are stronger together."