ALBUQUERQUE – On December 5, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, Albuquerque Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, New Mexico Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service, and City of Albuquerque’s Office of Equity and Inclusion convened a United Against Hate webinar on identifying, reporting, and preventing acts of hate. The online event aimed to provide nonprofits, community leaders, businesses, educators and religious leaders with information on how to prevent and respond to hate crimes and bias incidents, including the definitions of each and the process for investigation, as well as highlighting the resources available to the public to help protect against these crimes and incidents.
The Department of Justice’s United Against Hate program connects federal, state, and local law enforcement with local communities, including those that have been historically marginalized and may be especially vulnerable to hate crimes and bias motivated incidents. The program not only educates community members about hate crimes and hate incidents, but also helps to build trust between community and law enforcement and strengthens local networks to combat unlawful acts of hate.
In his opening statement, U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez said “…we are a single community that has to figure out how we live together in peace. The truth is that the answers are never simple, they are never one sided. The truth is punishment alone doesn’t work, but neither does leniency alone. There must be both consequences and forgiveness. Penance and reconciliation.” USA Uballez continued, saying, “We need to rise together as a community. We need to see no strangers. Never miss an opportunity to demonstrate who we can be. That’s why you’re here today. Be safe. Be brave. We do this together.”
Assistant United States Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito presented an overview of hate crime laws, explaining the federal statutes that protect against offenses that are motivated by “an individual’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.” AUSA Tapia-Brito cautioned that it can be hard to tell if a given set of facts will result in successful prosecution, but that it is critically important for community members to report all hate crimes or bias incidents because information about these incidents help law enforcement recognize trends and patterns. AUSA Tapia-Brito stressed that just because law enforcement cannot prosecute an incident as a hate crime does not mean nothing can be done, and that other remedies may be available to victims under civil statutes.
Next, APD Deputy Chief Cecily Barker and Commander Kyle Hartstock highlighted the steps the Department takes to combat hate crimes and community resources, like APD’s Ambassador Program, which assigns officers to different communities, including faith-based, LGBTQ2+, Hispanic, Native American, refugees, veterans, senior citizens, African American, Americans with disabilities and youth groups. Ambassadors focus on building points of contact within the community and provide them with resources to bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement. Commander Hartstock provided examples of two recent cases where contact with community members and organizations proved to be critical to solving the cases and explained how they used the Department’s Ambassador Program, Crime Prevention Specialists and Language Access Coordinators to connect with the community. Deputy Chief Barker highlighted how they were able to leverage federal law enforcement partnerships throughout the investigation.
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office Raul Bujanda talked about the FBI’s responsibilities as the lead federal investigative agency for civil rights matters and hate crimes. Special Agents stressed that it is more important to report a potential hate crime immediately than it is to report it to the correct agency, especially in the event of an imminent threat. They provided the two ways that people can report suspected hate crimes and/or bias incidents to the FBI: online via tips.FBI.gov or by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
Marcella Benton from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management discussed the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding for physical and cyber security enhancements and other security-related actives to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of being the target of a hate crime. Eligible nonprofits include houses of worship, private education facilities, medical facilities and other 501(c)(3) organizations.
Lastly, Kim Milstead from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service (CRS) explained CRS’ mission: to work with community groups to resolve community conflicts and prevent and respond to alleged hate crimes arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or disability. CRS provides impartial, voluntary, confidential and free services like mediation, consultation and training in partnership with federal, state, local, nonprofit, educational and community organizations. CRS’ work aims to leave a community better equipped to address incidents.
Executive AUSA Aja Brooks concluded the webinar by thanking both the presenters and participants for attending, stating that those in attendance were already part of the solution.
The webinar can be viewed here.
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