Uniform Crime Reports - Hate Crimes NEXT Meeting: Please call Karen Aroesty of ADL to check on next meeting date: 314-432-6868
Background NCCJSTL is a member of the United States Attorneys Hate Crimes Task Force (USAHCTF). Martin Rafanan, NCCJSTL director, served as the Chair of the Living Together in Community Task Force of St. Louis 2004. One of the goals of the 2004 work was to organize the community's response to hate crimes and establish an ongoing process for educating the community on issues of bias, bigotry and racism and promoting understanding and respect. Representatives of law enforcement and human relations organizations came together to form the United States Attorneys Hate Crimes Task Force in 1997 with the leadership of US Attorneys from Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois and special guidance from the Anti-Defamation League under the direction of then ADL Executive Director David Waren. Since it's formation in 1997, the US Attorneys Hate Crime Task Force has grown to include approximately 70 representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement jurisdictions in Missouri and Illinois, as well as educators, social justice organizers, advocates on behalf of a broad range of racial and ethnic groups and the interfaith community. The Task Force meets four times a year, and has successfully completed a variety of goal-oriented projects. Currently, the U.S. Attorneys from Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois co-chair the task force and ADL, under the direction of Karen Aroesty, continues to provide outstanding leadership to the task force processes. Over the last six years, USAHCTF has been highly successful in its efforts to both address specific incidents of hate crimes and to also proactively educate the community about hate crimes issues: (1) in 1999, the group successfully worked to amend the Missouri Hate Crime Statute to add protection for those targeted on the basis of disability, gender or sexual orientation. (2) in November 2000, the Task Force saw the dedication of the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway, the result of its advocacy against the participation of the Missouri Realm of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the adopt-a-highway program of the Department of Transportation. The Klan was later dropped from the program for its inability to fulfill its obligations under the program and DOT adopted specific criteria to prohibit hate groups from future participation. It is expected that this issue will be tested again in the Courts in the near future. (3) in February 2001, Task Force members, including the FBI and the Office of the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri presented a 5-day P.O.S.T. certified "train-the-trainer" on hate crimes and extremism for 35 federal and state law enforcement representatives. (4) in April, 2002, Task Force members, including the FBI and the Office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois presented a similar 5-day train the trainer for 30 law enforcement jurisdictions in Illinois. (5) in July, 2003, the Task Force assisted with the coordination of a community program "Welcoming the Stranger: A Dialogue on Diversity and Acceptance" with the African Mutual Assistance Association of Missouri. The day-long seminar attracted 150 participants; a number of Task Force members participated as presenters. The Task Force meetings continue to expose members to issues involving hate crime education, regional extremist activity, and issues such as hate on the Internet. The Task Force continues to bring in new members from communities targeted by hate/bias activity. Perhaps most importantly, the Task Force has created a forum for building relationships that would not have otherwise been possible. Hate crimes and the education and community-building necessary to fight the impact of hate crimes is an issue that unites all people in the St. Louis Region.
All meeting times are from 9:00 am - 10:30 am - please check with ADL for further information, 314.432.6868 | 
