Justice Department to provide $21M to investigate hate crimes

The Justice Department announced Thursday it will be providing $21 million to help law enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute hate crimes.

The money, announced on the 12th anniversary of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, will be offered through the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

“Hate crimes instill fear across entire communities. They have profoundly negative and unacceptable effects on our society,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said. “The department is committed to using all tools at our disposal to combat unlawful acts of hate. These awards will provide state, local and tribal agencies additional support and critical resources to address hate crimes and their far-reaching effects.”

Shepard, a gay man, and Bryd, a Black man, were killed over their sexuality and race in separate instances.

The OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) plans to begin a new program in honor of the two men to help improve investigations and prosecutions into hate crimes.

The program will get a dispensation of $8.4 million for training and technical assistance. The BJA will also give $1.5 million, under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016, to help solve cold case hate crimes from before 1980. 

“Acts of violence and destruction motivated by hate and bias cause lasting harm to victims, terrorize entire communities and divide our nation, leaving deep scars and stalling the march toward equal justice,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon of the OJP said. “We must work together to bridge the gaps of empathy, root out intolerance in all its forms and send a clear message that the future belongs to every American, no matter what they look like, how they worship and whom they love.”

The OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime will be helping communities that have been affected by hate crimes with $2 million while the OJP’s National Institute of Justice has given $7.5 million “to support research designed to develop a better understanding of the phenomenon known as domestic radicalization and to advance evidence-based strategies for preventing and intervening in acts of domestic terrorism.”