879 West Park Avenue, Cobblestone Village #161

Ocean Township, New Jersey 07712

(732) 460-0804    Fax (732) 460-0804

Justice and only Justice shell we pursue....                And a Child shall lead them........Hate Crime Protocol Policy

  HATE CRIMES  PROTOCOL POLICY

Policy

The members of the National Alliance of Hate Crimes Investigators and District Attorney's  Association  which includes local, county, state, and federal agencies, agree to focus  administrators, investigators and prosecutorial and enforcement resources toward eliminating hate crimes through enforcement, prosecution, in-service training, victim assistance and national crime prevention efforts.

     Hate crimes attack the basic values of American society by targeting the right of every resident to live safely and freely.  It is vital that all members of the public safety team recognize the impact of these crimes on the victims, their families and our community.  Therefore, we expect that every member of the public safety team demonstrate the highest professional standards when dealing with bias incidents or crime. 

     As protectors of the peace of our community and guarantors of the rights of every individual living therein, we expect that all members of the public safety team, from dispatchers to first responders, from detectives, command staff,  prosecutors, district attorneys,  and assistant prosecutors  to assistant district attorneys shall conduct themselves in a professional and knowledgeable manner.  All members will exhibit empathy for the victims and all members will present a non-discriminatory demeanor when dealing with any alleged hate crime.

  Reporting

The National Alliance of Hate Crimes Investigators and District Attorneys Association  believes in the importance of thoroughly and completely reporting and tracking hate crimes.  Each agency is responsible for ensuring its communications staff receives training in identifying bias hate crimes.  This will help insure an appropriate response to reported hate crimes.  

Responding personnel’s reports should state the suspect’s and victim’s race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.  All hate crimes shall be documented on the appropriate bias/hate crime report forms, ensuring that the hate crime fields are properly marked.

All reported bias/hate  incidents, which are incidents not rising to the level of a hate crime, should be documented on an Bias Incident report.  If applicable, a designee in the agency should collect, review and store all hate/bias reports to assist in pattern analysis and aid in the prosecution of hate crimes. The report should state the suspect’s and victim’s race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.  This information will be utilized for follow up and appropriate referral to mutually concerned agencies.

When responding personnel determine the acts complained of constitute a hate/bias crime, they are responsible for conducting a thorough preliminary investigation consistent with agency policies and procedures.  Their investigation should focus on the ultimate identification, apprehension and prosecution of suspects. 

Personnel will maintain objectivity in reporting hate crimes.  They will ensure that elements of all involved crimes are included in the report, document any injuries sustained by the victim on the appropriate forms, and document all evidence collected.  

An arrest should be made when appropriate. Personnel should be aware of the emotional trauma associated with hate crimes and be sensitive to the victim’s feelings, needs and fears.  Personnel should explain the options available to the victim, including the citizen’s arrest process, temporary restraining orders (if applicable), and in cases of arrest, the follow up procedures and ensuing criminal proceedings.  Personnel should inform the victim of available department and community resources.

  Investigation

All reported bias hate crimes will receive thorough follow-up investigation consistent with  policies and procedures.  Investigators should maintain liaisons with appropriate state, federal and local law enforcement agencies for intelligence and information exchange and assistance. It is important to note that some bias/hate  incidents may not be criminal or civil in nature but requires the Bias Community Relations Officer to remain involved in the case in order to prevent an incident from sparking.

Law enforcement should also maintain open communications with Special Interest groups, such as:

All agencies should develop and implement innovative strategies designed to prevent and reduce the spread of bias/hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents within their communities.  The agencies should develop programs that are consistent with their mission and values statements.  The programs should take an educational approach and must be tailored to the needs of the community.  Agencies should engage community leaders and organizations in their prevention efforts.

  Training

It is the policy of the National Alliance of Hate Crimes Investigators and District Attorneys Association to encourage and facilitate hate crime training for all public safety and prosecuting personnel.  We will facilitate the development of training that will assist local county, state, and federal agencies in hate crime education through the NDAA and or the Performance Institute.

   Departments,  DA's and Prosecutors will develop procedures to accomplish formal on-the-job training. 

The training will follow the National District Attorney Association (NDAA) Standards and Training guidelines as much as possible so long as it does not conflict with the guidelines and Standards of your state.

 Training should be given to all personnel regardless of assignment or tenure.  Formal on the job training should be accomplished at a minimum of every twenty-four months.

Police Academies should also be a partner in this effort as a number of recruits enter their doors.   

Suggested In-Service Training on Bias Hate Crimes  and Diversity for Veteran Officers should be as follows:

Police Recruits, Park Rangers, Special Officers: receive this training in every Police Academy Recruit Class for a minimum of two (2) days.

Patrol Officers: Once every two years.

Sergeants & Detectives: Once ever three years.

Lieutenants & Captains: Once every four years.

Chiefs, Public Safety Directors: Once every five years.

This training should be mandatory with a minimum of one full day (8 hours) of training provide. 

The National Alliance recognizes the distinctive fear and stress typically suffered by victims of hate crimes, the potential for reprisal and escalation of violence, and the far-reaching negative consequences that hate crimes have on our country and community.  The National District Attorney’s Association considers hate crimes to be very serious and is committed to prosecuting hate crimes.

 The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) and the National Alliance is committed to protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitutions to all people, regardless of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability.  Hate Crimes, whether by violence, threats or other forms of harassment, infringe those rights and create fear, trauma and concern not only in the direct victims, but in the entire community.

  The National Alliance will ensure that the agencies concern aggressively investigate and prosecute all hate-motivated crimes.  

    The NDAA and the National Alliance further recognizes that effectively addressing the problem of hate/bias crimes requires coordination among federal, state, county and local law enforcement and prosecutors as well as those law enforcement associations (probation & Parole) who assist law enforcement and prosecutors in their efforts to stop bias/hate related incident.

 With that principle in mind, the National Alliance pledges to support the efforts of any agency in their response to bias/hate crimes and to prosecute those cases in which federal action is warranted.

NATIONAL HATE CRIMES

POLICY PROTOCOL

 If your agency is truly committed to this policy and are willing to support it by virtue of assigning a full-time officer who is committed to the ideals of community relations and bias hate crimes investigations, please sign below.

Because we understand that is such a timely and important issue, and because we understand that no work has ever been the sole approach of any one individual, and because we understand the importance of Teamwork,  we hereby stress the team approach of which the following people should be apart of your team.

Prosecutor/District Attorney                      

Assistant Prosecutor/Deputy Attorney                         

Police Chief/Public Safety Director      

Deputy Police Chief/ City Manager   

County Bias/Hate Crime Investigator   

Local Bias/Hate Crime Investigator          

Victim Witness Advocacy                      

Human Relations Commission    

Probation Department Chief   

Probation & Parole

Warden of the County Prison, Director, Deputy Warden                                 

Corrections Bias Investigator               

Media

State Police (whenever possible)         

Attorney General (whenever possible)

Campus/University Police Chief 

Educator

This is commitment to seriously addressing the issue of bias/hate crimes and community relations. 

When we work in partnership with each other, we are working proactively and not reactively to  bias/hate crimes. so its important for both prosecutors, law enforcement and community to work together.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 The undertaking of any task has never been the work of any one individual. It is often the vision of one and the dream of another. 

It is in this respect that we gratefully, and respectfully  acknowledge and give thank, praise, and high honors to Deputy District Attorney Hector Jimenez, of the San Diego, California and L. Louis Jordan of Monmouth County, New Jersey for their assistance, vision, courage and insight has helped to develop this website.