There is Now A Brooklyn LGBT Task Force to Combat Hate Crimes
For once, I'm not writing about hate crimes!Okay, I'm kind of writing about hate crimes. But with a different spin. You see, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office has decided to react to the onslaught of anti-gay bias crimes in New York City, and they are stepping up in a big way. So, yes, I'm writing about hate crimes -- and a borough aiming to stop them.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office is starting "Project Reach Out," a task force designed to deal specifically with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hate crimes. There will be a 24-hour hotline where victims can report incidents that they may not feel comfortable reporting directly to the police. In addition, LGBT citizens will be able to call the hotline to access queer-friendly services, including social worker referrals.
“Often, biased crime victims are hesitant to come forward and report crimes against them. It is a scary and traumatic experience for them. They may not want to call 911 or walk into their local precinct,” Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes says. "Acts of violence against the LGBT community living and working in Brooklyn are not going to be tolerated. They never have been tolerated by this office. It is not open season on members of that community.”
Look out for "Project Reach Out" news on the D.A.'s Twitter, or call the hotline at 1-718-250-2759.
Photo Credit: Brooklyn District Attorney's Office
Brandon Miller is a freelance writer and editor from Toronto, Ontario.
Comments
Now what the Brooklyn DA is creating does not seem to be a crisis hotline (as in you can call when you are in crisis) but rather a reporting hotline as a way to encourage survivors to report hate ‘crimes’ because as Hynes puts it, “Often, biased crime victims are hesitant to come forward and report crimes against them. It is a scary and traumatic experience for them. They may not want to call 911 or walk into their local precinct.”
But what is not examined here is WHY it is so scary to report hate violence to the police. Maybe because often the police are the homophobic and transphobic attackers we are trying to protect ourselves from, or because when they are called they don’t bother to show up, or maybe its because in stranger based hate violence the attacker is rarely prosecuted (not that I am advocating for prosecution) How is a reporting hotline addressing any of these issues of accountability with the NYPD?
Given the particularly negative experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Gender Non-Conforming people of color with the NYPD, this seems like a pre-emptive, hasty move to grab media attention. I would encourage the Brooklyn DA’s office to look into first holding NYPD accountable for the violence it commits against our community before asking for our community to call in our experiences.