In an effort to combat hate crimes in the county, Broward's State Attorney's Office is launching a new unit to help raise public awareness and allow them to report such crimes.
State Attorney Harold F. Pryor announced the Broward County Hate Crimes Awareness Initiative, a venture with local law enforcement and organizations after the office was awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Hate crimes send a message to try to demean and intimidate the intended targets,” Pryor said in a statement. “They have an impact that extends far beyond the victim. We urge everyone to work together to help increase awareness of hate crimes and encourage people to report these offenses.”
Other parts of the initiative include:
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- Creating a Broward County Hate Crimes Task Force with law enforcement and community partners to increase public awareness of hate crimes and provide educational materials and public awareness campaigns to reach at-risk individuals and groups.
- Establishing a tracking system for reporting of incidents and potential hate crimes by victims and the community.
- Making it easier to report these incidents using the new Hate Crimes Hotline and webpage.
- Addressing underreporting of incidents.
- Promoting trust between the community, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system via education, training, and community outreach activities.
Residents can call the hotline at 954-831-8059 or report a crime by clicking on this link.
Broward County's population is more than 60 percent Black or Hispanic while the county has the eight largest Jewish population in the country. More than 75,000 Muslims also live in Broward, according to the State Attorney's Office.
