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Promising Practices Against Hate Crimes: Five State and Local Demonstration Projects

NCJ Number
181425
Author(s)
Stephen Wessler
Date Published
May 2000
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This monograph describes five demonstration programs developed by State and local agencies for confronting and reducing hate crimes.
Abstract
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Institutes Against Hate Crimes brings together interdisciplinary teams of law enforcement professionals from cities, regions and States for a 4-day training program. The San Diego Police Department and the Anti-Defamation League’s Victim Assistance Project responds to hate crime victims’ emotional and practical needs. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s JOLT (Juvenile Offenders Learning Tolerance) program teaches faculty and staff at K-12 schools how to recognize and deal with hate problems, attempts to divert juveniles involved in bias incidents and less serious hate crimes and aggressively prosecutes teenagers who commit serious hate crimes or fail to complete the diversion program. The Maine Department of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Team Project uses teams of students and faculty members to promote awareness of bias and prejudice in Maine’s public high, middle and elementary schools. The Massachusetts Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes uses civil rights teams in high schools similar to the Maine project.