Recommendation 20220425-2b: Hate Incident Reporting — original pdf
Recommendation
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Human Rights Commission Recommendation Number: (20220425-2b): Hate Incident Reporting WHEREAS, hate incidents have increased YoY across Austin and nationwide; and WHEREAS, there is documented confusion regarding the usage of Austin 311 and Online Reporting Tools to report hate crimes vs. “bias-based” incidents—as well as how to differentiate between the two; and WHEREAS, individuals looking to report hate crimes in good faith often refrain from doing so based either in that confusion or in fear of being charged with filing a false police report; and WHEREAS, there is no singular place to report hate crimes and/or incidents, with seven distinct recommended avenues published on the Austin and Travis County Hate Crimes Taskforce site; and WHEREAS, those reporting to APD must be prepared for a call back from an unknown number to take a report with three missed calls resulting in a closed case with no further action; and WHEREAS, reports being made through disparate entities creates barriers to aggregating and accurately understanding the nature of hate-based incidents in our city, meanwhile deflating overall numbers; and WHEREAS, the multilateral Hate Crimes Task Force exists and launched working groups to address antihate initiatives, it meets infrequently and has not issued a report since 2012; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Human Rights Commission encourages the Austin City Council to: • • Ensure adequate coordination and collaboration between the offices of the County Sheriff, District Attorney, Austin Police Department and the various organizations listed as avenues for reporting hate incidents in the city of Austin Build a cohesive system to capture accurate data as well as analyze data for patterns to effectively assess trends in hate incidents and guide the city's proactive response. Date of Approval: April 25, 2022 Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 6-0 vote with Commissioners Areche, Breckenridge, Brienzi, Brown and Brown absent. Attest: _____________________________________________