BY RACHEL CHEESEMAN
SALEM - In a meeting at the Q Center Wednesday, June 9, Attorney General John Kroger announced a new confidential means to report hate crimes in Oregon.
Kroger’s spokesman Tony Green said there always had been concerns that many hate crimes weren’t being reported. Members of the community spoke out at a meeting last week, saying many people were uncomfortable or afraid to report hate crimes to local law enforcement. A confidential form has been created that can be submitted to the Oregon Department of Justice.
Randy Blazak, chair of the Coalition Against Hate Crime, said that there are a number of reasons hate crimes go unreported. Some fear that the police won’t take the reports seriously. Others fear that the police might share those beliefs.
Blazak said that immigrants might not report hate crime because of language barriers or fear of deportation. Others in the LGBQT community do not want the attention such incidents might bring.
“The process of identifying yourself as a victim of a gaybashing can be a very public event,” he said.
Blazak said that the effects of hate crime go beyond the incident and the victim.
“Hate crimes are a form of terrorism. They’re meant to terrorize an entire community,” he said. “They create psychological ripples that can last years and years.”
Dianne Sykes of the Civil Rights Unit and Sean Riddell, Chief Counsel of the Criminal Justice Division, worked alongside the staff in information services to have the form ready by Wednesday.
“We’re thrilled that the Attorney General’s office has taken such an immediate action and offered such a tangible response to the requests made by the LGBTQ community at last week’s important forum,” said Kendall Clawson, Q Center Director, in a press release.
Once the form is submitted, department staff will review information and decide whether or not to pass on the case to local law enforcement.
“The crucial thing is that we need to make sure that these people are comfortable to move the case forward,” Green said, adding that some reports are filed for informational purposes, with no intent to seek prosecution. If a person did want to pursue prosecution after filing a report, then the investigation would move forward with local law enforcement.
“We don’t want this to be seen as a substitute for local law enforcement,” Green said. “We’re trying to make it really easy for them to do it online.”
Green said the form would also be a useful tool in helping to gather data about the frequency and nature of hate crime in Oregon.
“There’s all kinds of problems with trying to assess what the actual problem is because the data is so lacking,” Blazak said. “We just don’t know.”Green explained that hate crimes are prosecuted for the action, whether intimidation, assault, etc., with the motivation playing a role in the sentencing of the crime.
While the form’s creation was announced at the Q Center, a LBGQT community resource, Green said the form is meant to be inclusive, serving all those who might be targeted.
Blazak said the fact that Kroger made creating this form a priority sends a message to both victims and perpetrators of hate crime that it’s something that will be taken seriously.
“It’s a very powerful message,” Blazak said.
