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PROMISING PRACTICES

AGAINST HATE CRIMESFIVE STATE AND LOCAL

DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

Monograph

H A T E C R I M E S S E R I E S

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

PROMISING PRACTICES



#2

Monograph

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This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 95–DD–BX–K001, awarded bythe Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice toCommunity Research Associates, Inc. This document was prepared by the Center for theStudy and Prevention of Hate Violence, University of Southern Maine, under contract withCommunity Research Associates, Inc. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recom-mendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarilyrepresent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531

Janet RenoAttorney General

Daniel MarcusActing Associate Attorney General

Mary Lou LearyActing Assistant Attorney General

Nancy E. GistDirector, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Office of Justice ProgramsWorld Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Bureau of Justice AssistanceWorld Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

For grant and funding information contactU.S. Department of Justice Response Center

1–800–421–6770

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which alsoincludes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.


PROMISING PRACTICES



May 2000

NCJ 181425

Prepared by Stephen WesslerCenter for the Study and Prevention of Hate Violence

University of Southern Maine

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iiiBUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Training and Support for Law Enforcement Professionals . . . . . . v

Meeting the Needs of Hate Crime Victims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Addressing Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents Among Youth. . . . . . v

I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

II. The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Institutes Against Hate Crimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Institutes’ 4-Day Program at the Museum of Tolerance. . . . . 3

Continuing Efforts of the Institutes—The Creative Use of the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

III. The Victim Assistance Project in San Diego . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

The First Step—Immediate Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Second Step—Followup Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Third Step—Weeks 2 Through 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IV. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s JOLT Program . . . . . . .9

Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Early Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Prosecution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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PROMISING PRACTICES AGAINST HATE CRIMES

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V. The Maine Department of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Team Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Trainings and Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Mini-Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Statewide Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

VI. The Massachusetts Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes . . . . . .15

The Civil Rights Team Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Stop the Hate Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

VII. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

VIII. For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

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BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

Executive Summary

v

The five demonstration programsdescribed in this monograph areamong our nation’s most promisingmodels for confronting and reduc-ing hate crime. These programs,funded by the Bureau of JusticeAssistance, Office of JusticePrograms, U.S. Department ofJustice, were developed by stateand local agencies. The first pro-gram provides training to lawenforcement professionals; the sec-ond program addresses the needsof hate crime victims; and the lastthree programs focus on biasamong youth, with an emphasis onremoving hate from public schools.

Training and Support forLaw EnforcementProfessionals• The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s

National Institutes AgainstHate Crimes—Brings togethermultidisciplinary teams of lawenforcement professionals fromcities, regions, and states for a4-day intensive course at theSimon Wiesenthal Center in LosAngeles, California. By the endof the course, each team hasdeveloped a comprehensive,coordinated plan for addressinghate crimes in its community.

Meeting the Needs of HateCrime Victims• The San Diego Police

Department and the Anti-Defamation League’s VictimAssistance Project—Respondsto hate crime victims’ emotionaland practical needs. When ahate crime is reported in SanDiego, a trained victim assis-tance volunteer from the SanDiego Police Department iscalled to the scene to provideemotional support and to coor-dinate services for pressingneeds such as transportation,counseling, and medical atten-tion. The project’s victim assis-tance coordinator then workswith the investigating detectiveto provide followup contact withthe victim for weeks after theincident.

Addressing Hate Crimesand Bias Incidents AmongYouth• The Los Angeles County

District Attorney’s JOLTProgram—Combines a compre-hensive training program forfaculty and staff at K–12 schoolsto recognize and deal with hate

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problems, a diversion programfor juveniles who are involved inbias incidents and less serioushate crimes, and aggressiveprosecution of teenagers whocommit serious hate crimes orfail to complete the diversionprogram.

• The Maine Department of theAttorney General’s Civil RightsTeam Project—Uses teams ofstudents and faculty members topromote awareness of bias andprejudice in Maine’s public highschools, middle schools, and

elementary schools. More than1,900 students in 133 schoolsstatewide have participated.

• The Massachusetts Governor’sTask Force on Hate Crimes—Uses civil rights teams in highschools that are similar to theteams that have been estab-lished in the Maine project.The Task Force also promotesStop the Hate Week throughoutthe Commonwealth and hassponsored a variety of student-directed events focusing on hateand bias prevention in schools.

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I. Introduction

1BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

THE IMPACT OF HATE CRIMES IS DEV-ASTATING TO INDIVIDUAL VICTIMS,ENTIRE COMMUNITIES, AND, INDEED,TO THE NATION AS A WHOLE. HATE

CRIMES, HOWEVER, ARE BEING CHAL-LENGED IN COUNTLESS WAYS ACROSS THIS

COUNTRY BY STATE AND COUNTY PROSECU-TORIAL AGENCIES, POLICE DEPARTMENTS,CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS,AND OTHERS. IT IS ONLY THROUGH THE

CREATIVITY, HARD WORK, AND PASSION

OF THE DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS WHO

WORK FOR THESE MANY INSTITUTIONS

THAT WE WILL CONQUER HATE, BIAS,AND PREJUDICE.

—Nancy GistDirector

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bias, prejudice, and the violencethey engender are not a new phe-nomenon in America. The trial andexecution of women suspectedof being witches in colonial NewEngland, the brutal and often deadlytreatment of Native Americansby westward-moving EuropeanAmericans, the anti-Catholic fervor

of the Know Nothings in the 1850s,the bloody rampages of the newlyborn Ku Klux Klan in the Southduring Reconstruction, and theintimidation, beatings, and killingsof southern blacks and civil rightsworkers in the 1960s stand as onlya partial testament to our nation’stragic experience with hate andviolence. During the 1980s and1990s and continuing into thisdecade, we have witnessedhate crimes directed at AfricanAmericans, gays and lesbians,women, Jews, Asian Americans,Latinos, Native Americans, and thephysically and mentally disabled.Some of these hate crimes—the murders of James Byrd, Jr.,in Jasper, Texas, and MatthewShepard in Laramie, Wyoming—have captured the nation’s head-lines, whereas too many othershave occurred in virtual anonymity.

The persistence of hate crimesthroughout our history does not,however, mean that bias, prejudice,and violence are intractable. Acrossthis country, people are developingnew ways to confront hate. Amonograph published by theBureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)recently described six such innova-tive initiatives.1 This monograph

1 Stephen Wessler, February 2000, Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing theEfforts of Criminal Justice Professionals, Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S.Department of Justice.

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describes five additional effortsfunded by BJA as demonstrationsites.

• The Simon Wiesenthal Center’sNational Institutes AgainstHate Crimes, an intensive 4-daycourse that brings togetherteams of law enforcement pro-fessionals from cities, regions,and states to develop new andcoordinated initiatives to combathate crimes.

• The San Diego Police Depart-ment and the Anti-DefamationLeague’s Victim AssistanceProject, an innovative collabora-tion to provide victims of hatecrimes with both immediate andemotional assistance.

• The Los Angeles CountyDistrict Attorney’s JOLTProgram, a comprehensive earlyintervention, prevention, anddiversion initiative addressingteenage perpetrators of hatecrimes and bias incidents.

• The Maine Department of theAttorney General’s Civil RightsTeam Project, a statewide pro-gram for preventing bias, preju-dice, harassment, and violencethat is used in more than 120high schools, middle schools,and elementary schools.

• The Massachusetts Governor’sTask Force on Hate Crimes, acivil rights team project thatsponsors student-directedevents and Stop the HateWeek in schools throughoutthe Commonwealth.

Individually, each demonstrationproject presents a new and creativeeffort for confronting the nation’sproblem with hate crimes. Collec-tively, the programs demonstratethat multifaceted approaches areneeded to confront, respond to,and prevent hate violence. Themost effective approaches includecoordination among all compo-nents of the criminal justice sys-tem, focused efforts to addressthe needs of the victims of hatecrimes, diversion programs foryouth, and activities encouraginghate crime prevention in ourschools. Ultimately, our successin decreasing the number of hatecrimes will depend upon manyorganizations, both governmentaland private, using similarly creativeapproaches to combating bias,prejudice, and violence.




The Institutes’ 4-DayProgram at the Museumof Tolerance

Each Institute hosts three to fiveteams. Each team has six mem-bers: one judge or other repre-sentative of the judiciary, oneprosecuting attorney, one publicdefender, one probation officer,and two law enforcement officers.Although most teams are fromdensely populated metropolitanareas such as greater New YorkCity and Los Angeles County,some teams are from smaller,more rural states. Participants forthe course are chosen for the lead-ership positions they hold withintheir communities and within theirorganizations. Each team isexpected to formulate new strate-gic approaches to combating hatecrimes based on a fresh under-standing of the unique elementsthat differentiate hate crimes fromother criminal acts.

Day 1The program begins with a facili-

tated tour of the Simon WiesenthalCenter’s Museum of Tolerance. The museum’s interactive exhibits allowparticipants to study the dynamics

II. The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Institutes Against Hate Crimes

THE CONCEPT OF THE INSTITUTES IS

TO BRING TOGETHER TEAMS OF CRIM-INAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONALS IN LEAD-ERSHIP POSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE

UNITED STATES, AND CHALLENGE THEM,INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A GROUP, TO FOR-MULATE FRESH THINKING, CREATE NEW

STRATEGIC THEORY, AND DESIGN BLUE-PRINTS FOR COLLABORATIVE ACTION.

—Liebe GeftDirector

Museum of ToleranceSimon Wiesenthal Center

The Simon Wiesenthal Center,through its acclaimed Museumof Tolerance in Los Angeles,California, created the NationalInstitutes Against Hate Crimes witha grant from BJA. The Institutesutilize the Museum, a faculty ofnationally recognized experts onhate crimes, and the Internet toconduct intensive training sessionswith teams of criminal justice offi-cials from cities, regions, andstates.


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of bias, prejudice, oppression, andhate violence. Museum exhibitspresent the Holocaust in both his-torical and contemporary contexts.Participants have frequently statedthat the tour is a moving, thought-provoking beginning to their work.

For law enforcement profession-als, the tour is a unique opportuni-ty to compare historic events topresent-day situations they mayencounter on the job. Accordingto museum Director Liebe Geft, thetour encourages participants tohold a mirror to themselves andconfront closely held beliefs.

In the afternoon, participantshear and discuss the personalexperience of a victim of hate vio-lence. Presenters have includedHolocaust survivors and an AfricanAmerican who as a child wasinvolved in the desegregation ofthe Little Rock, Arkansas, schools.One participant commented thathearing from a Holocaust survivordemonstrated the “ability to trans-late personal horror into activism.”

The remainder of the day isdevoted to sessions led by expertson different facets of hate crimes.Topics include demographics,crime mapping, and the impact ofhate crimes on victims and theircommunities. These sessions arefollowed by a panel and breakoutgroup discussion of best practicesin law enforcement to combat hate

crimes. The panel includes repre-sentatives of the judiciary, prosecu-tor’s office, public defender’s office,probation department, and policedepartment.

Day 2 The day begins with a presenta-

tion on contemporary hate groups,followed by a discussion of consti-tutional issues surrounding theenforcement of hate crime laws.A former member of an organizedhate group describes his or herpersonal history. The afternoonsession explores intergroup ten-sions and how those tensions affecthate crimes, the different strategiesfor combating hate crimes, and theprocess for reaching a consensusamong team members in selectingthe best strategies.

Day 3 Each team spends the third day

working together to develop innov-ative and coordinated strategies foraddressing hate crimes in theirjurisdiction. The goal is to create adetailed blueprint for collaborationthat can be implemented whenteam members are back in theircommunities. This effort is at theheart of the Institutes, and the mostimportant challenge for teammembers is to work together toimplement the plan.



National Institutes Against Hate Crimes


Day 4The final day examines the

explosive growth in the use of theInternet by hate groups. At the out-break of the Gulf War in 1990,only one hate site existed on theInternet. In January 2000, therewere more than 2,000 such sites.

Continuing Efforts of theInstitutes—The CreativeUse of the Internet

The Simon Wiesenthal Centerhas developed an innovativeapproach to using the Internet forthe Institutes’ participants. Eachparticipant is issued a personalpassword to access the center’scustomized Web site. The passwordenables participants to obtain up-to-date information and resourceson hate crimes, to stay connected

with the center’s staff, and to com-municate with one another. TheWiesenthal Center also plans toconduct two video conferences atwhich the teams will share theresults of their efforts.

SummaryThe Simon Wiesenthal Center

plans to conduct at least 10Institutes in 2000. What sets theseprograms apart is not only theirintensity but also their focus ondeveloping concrete strategies forimplementing coordinated hatecrime prevention and responseefforts. Participants’ access tosophisticated computer technologyallows teams from all over thecountry to share best practices asthey begin the difficult job of con-fronting hate crimes in their localcommunities.


III. The Victim Assistance Projectin San Diego


Diego Victim Assistance Projectaddresses both the immediate andthe emotional needs of victims ofhate crimes in a comprehensive,citywide program.

The First Step—Immediate Response

The first response of a San Diegopolice officer to a hate crime is tocall in an Anti-Defamation League-trained crisis interventionist whoworks directly with victims at thescene of a crime. At the scene, thecrisis interventionist confers withthe officer and then meets with thevictims to talk about their needs.Frequently, the initial need of vic-tims is validation of their feelingsof anger, fear, and isolation. Thecrisis interventionist addressesthis need and determines what tangible support the victimsrequire, often staying with themlong after the responding officerhas taken a report.

The Second Step—Followup Contact

On the following day, the crisisinterventionist contacts the victimassistance coordinator, who man-ages and coordinates the VictimAssistance Project’s response tohate crime victims. The victim

WE WANT TO SEND A STRONG MES-SAGE: WE ARE NOT GOING TO TOLERATE

HATE CRIMES IN SAN DIEGO.

—David BejaranoChief of Police

San Diego Police Department

HATE CRIMES ARE MESSAGE CRIMES.THE MESSAGE THEY CARRY IS, “YOU DON’TBELONG HERE; YOU DON’T MATTER.” THE

MESSAGE WE MEAN TO CONVEY IS JUST THE

OPPOSITE: “THOSE WHO WOULD MAKE

OUR PEOPLE AFRAID AND DIVIDE OUR

COMMUNITIES WILL NOT SUCCEED.”

—Morris CasutoDirector

San Diego Regional Office, Anti-Defamation League

Individuals who are targetedbecause of their racial identity, reli-gion, nationality, ethnicity, sexualorientation, gender, or physical ormental disability not only suffer physical injury and property dam-age but also frequently feel intensefear and isolation. For many hatecrime victims, this emotionaldegradation leaves deeper scarsthan physical injury. The San



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assistance coordinator immediatelycalls or visits the victims to assesstheir needs for ongoing services.The detective investigating the inci-dent also contacts the victims atthis time. This followup is crucialfor two reasons: It provides contin-uing emotional support and itallows the victim assistance coordi-nator to assess the victims’ chang-ing needs and to make referrals tocommunity organizations and ser-vice providers.

As part of this project, the victimassistance coordinator has devel-oped a list of community-basedorganizations and other serviceproviders who arrange servicesat no or reduced cost to victimsof hate crimes. These servicesinclude repainting homes, religiousbuildings, or other institutionsdefaced by hate graffiti; fixing orreplacing windshields broken byvandals; repairing or replacinglocks; and moving victims to newhousing.

The Third Step—Weeks 2 Through 4

The third step in the projectoccurs 2 to 4 weeks after a hatecrime. During this period, the vic-tim assistance coordinator discuss-es the status of the investigationwith the detective and calls or visitsvictims to report on how the caseis progressing. The victim assis-tance coordinator reassesseswhether the victims have ongoingemotional or practical needsand makes appropriate referrals.

Regular updates on the investiga-tion are also provided at this stageby the investigating detective. Thevictim assistance coordinator’s reg-ular contact with victims usuallyends at this point.

MOST VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES ARE

INJURED NOT ONLY EXTERNALLY BUT

ALSO TO THE SOUL. WE WANT TO HELP

REPAIR THEIR SOULS AND BRING THE COM-MUNITY TOGETHER. TOO OFTEN, VICTIMS

OF HATE CRIMES DON’T KNOW WHERE TO

GO. THAT WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM IN SAN

DIEGO.

—Morris CasutoDirector

San Diego Regional Office, Anti-Defamation League

SummaryThe San Diego Victim Assistance

Project is special because it com-bines immediate response to theneeds of hate crime victims withfollowup contact and services forseveral weeks after a hate crimehas occurred. Moreover, the projectis one of the few that focusessimultaneously on victims’ two different types of needs: the emotional and the tangible. Mostimportant, it sends a strong message to perpetrators of hatecrimes that their bias, prejudice,and violence are not tolerated inSan Diego.


IV. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s JOLT Program

PreventionJOLT’s prevention component

has two separate parts. The firstinvolves intensive 2-day education-al workshops for school faculty,staff, and administrators at theSimon Wiesenthal Center’s Museumof Tolerance in Los Angeles. Themuseum’s interactive Holocaustexhibits allow visitors to exploreissues of bias, prejudice, and hateviolence. Teachers are taken on afacilitated tour of the museum andthen participate in a workshopfocusing on valuing differences,engaging in cross-cultural commu-nications, and developing specifictools for addressing these issues intheir curriculum.

The second part of JOLT’s pre-vention component is onsite train-ing at Antelope Valley schools. Theentire faculty, staff, and administra-tion of elementary, junior high, andhigh schools attend full-day work-shops provided by the Los AngelesCounty District Attorney’s Office orthe Facing History and OurselvesNational Foundation. Facing Historyand Ourselves, an organization thatdevelops curricula and workshopsfor teachers on bias, prejudice,harassment, and hate, was recog-nized in the President’s Initiative onRace 1999 publication, Pathwaysto One America in the 21st Century:


EVERY STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO

ATTEND SCHOOL WITHOUT BEING

SUBJECT TO HARASSMENT OR WORSE

BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE, RELIGION, ETH-NICITY, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR

PHYSICAL OR MENTAL DISABILITY. SIMPLY

PUT, THE JOLT PROGRAM SEEKS TO ENSURE

THAT EVERY STUDENT IS ABLE TO REALIZE

THIS IMPORTANT AND BASIC GOAL.

—Gil GarcettiDistrict Attorney

Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County DistrictAttorney’s JOLT (Juvenile OffendersLearning Tolerance) Program is aninnovative hate crime initiative foryouth that combines prevention,early intervention, and prosecution.JOLT focuses on hate crime inAntelope Valley, a sprawling com-munity 80 miles northeast of LosAngeles with a population of200,000 residents and 64 schools.The region has one of the highestjuvenile hate crime rates in LosAngeles County and the state ofCalifornia. Juvenile hate crimeshave targeted the region’s African-American, Hispanic, and gay andlesbian populations.



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Promising Practices for RacialReconciliation.

A second workshop is conductedby the Los Angeles County DistrictAttorney’s Office using theFlashpoint curriculum. Teachersare instructed how to incorporatethe curriculum into elementary andjunior high school classes. The cur-riculum uses film, music, and writ-ten material to educate youngpeople about civil rights, biases,stereotypes, and discrimination.

Early InterventionJOLT’s early intervention pro-

gram is a preprosecution diversionprogram for juveniles 12 to 18years old who have engaged inbias-motivated misconduct or havecommitted low-level hate crimes.Juveniles are given the option ofbeing suspended or expelled fromschool or participating in the diver-sion program. Similarly, the LosAngeles County District Attorney’sOffice refers juveniles who havebeen accused of committing lessserious hate crimes to the program.

Juveniles who elect to go throughthe diversion program start with aninformal hearing in the CountyDistrict Attorney’s Office, accompa-nied by their parents or guardians.The hearing process is held withina week of the referral to show juve-niles that their conduct has imme-diate consequences. Juveniles whoare determined by the DistrictAttorney’s Office to have engaged

in bias-motivated conduct or a hatecrime and who show a degree ofaccountability, sign a JOLT con-tract. Under the contract, they must(1) complete an intensive antihatecurriculum, (2) attend a trainingprogram focusing on anger man-agement and conflict resolution, (3) write letters of apology to thevictims, (4) fulfill a restitutionagreement, if appropriate, and (5)attend school, receive satisfactorygrades, and demonstrate good citizenship.

The antihate curricula used inJOLT—one for juveniles and onefor their parents or guardians—were developed by the NationalConference for Community andJustice (NCCJ). The curriculumfor juveniles is taught in 3-hoursessions for 7 weeks. The sessionsfor parents are held for 10 weeks.Both curricula focus on giving par-ticipants a better understandingof their own biases and the impactof bias-motivated harassment,property damage, and violenceon victims.

The benefits are significant forjuveniles who complete the diver-sion program. They avoid the filingof a petition in juvenile delinquencycourt and are allowed to return toor remain in school. More impor-tant, they begin to understand thedestructive consequences of theirhate and the need to view diversityin their community from a differentperspective.


ProsecutionThe final component of the JOLT

Program is prosecution for threetypes of juveniles. Juveniles whohave committed serious, often vio-lent, hate crimes are categorized ashardcore offenders and are consid-ered to be unsuitable for the diver-sion program. This category alsoincludes juveniles who haveengaged in two or more incidentsof bias-motivated misconduct.Juveniles who are referred toJOLT but refuse to sign the JOLTcontract are also dealt with in thiscomponent. The final categoryincludes juveniles who sign theJOLT contract but fail to meet itsrequirements.

The JOLT Program


SummaryWhat sets JOLT apart is its com-

prehensive approach to addressingbias-motivated misconduct byjuveniles at a variety of levels. Theprogram helps teachers incorporateissues of diversity and respect intothe classroom, gives juveniles analternative to the court process,and protects the community byprosecuting juveniles who havecommitted serious, violent crimesor who refuse to participate in edu-cational or diversion activities.


V. The Maine Department of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Team Project


NO STUDENTS IN THIS STATE SHOULD

HAVE TO EXPERIENCE ANXIETY, FEAR,OR TERROR IN THEIR ELEMENTARY, MID-DLE, OR HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE

COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, THEIR RELIGION,THEIR GENDER, THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTA-TION, THEIR DISABILITY, OR ANY OTHER

ASPECT OF THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM

DIFFERENT FROM OTHER STUDENTS. THE

SECRET TO THE SUCCESS OF THE CIVIL

RIGHTS TEAM PROJECT IS LAW ENFORCE-MENT WORKING TOGETHER WITH TEACHERS

AND ADMINISTRATORS TO EMPOWER STU-DENTS TO STAND UP FOR CIVILITY AND

RESPECT. THE CONCEPT IS SIMPLE; THE

CONCEPT IS POWERFUL; AND THE CONCEPT

WORKS.

—Andrew KettererAttorney General

State of Maine

In fall 1996, the Maine AttorneyGeneral used BJA funds to startthe Civil Rights Team Project in 18middle and high schools. The pro-ject addressed school-based bias,prejudice, harassment, and vio-lence. In 1997, with a larger grant

from BJA, the project expandedto 58 schools and has continuedto grow since then. As of the1999–2000 school year, more than117 middle and high schools and 4elementary schools had developedcivil rights teams. More than 1,700students in Maine now participatein civil rights teams.

Maine’s civil rights teams aremade up of three or four studentsper grade, plus two or three facultyadvisers. The teams have two for-mal responsibilities. First, they promote awareness of bias andprejudice within their schools.Second, they organize forums forstudents to talk about harassment.If a team receives informationabout harassment, it is chargedwith forwarding that information toa responsible teacher or adminis-trator. The Attorney General’soffice assigns a community adviserto each team to serve as liaisonbetween the team and the Depart-ment of the Attorney General.

Trainings and Workshops Maine’s Department of the

Attorney General provides full-daytraining each fall for new andreturning civil rights teams and forfaculty and community advisers.



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These trainings, which are con-ducted by staff of the Departmentof the Attorney General using theoffice’s own curriculum, include thefollowing:

• A presentation on the type ofhate crimes committed in Maineschools.

• Interactive exercises on the roleof degrading language and slursin escalating a situation to seri-ous harassment and violence.

• A presentation by a Holocaustsurvivor or a victim of bias andprejudice in Maine.

• Role-playing exercises on howto run effective civil rights teammeetings.

• Small group work on real-lifescenarios.

• Plans for the upcoming year.

Every school participating inthe civil rights team project agreesto host the Department of theAttorney General for a half-dayworkshop for faculty, administra-tors, and staff. The workshop givesteachers and other school staffa better understanding of thedestructive impact of degradinglanguage and bias-motivatedharassment and teaches them howto intervene when students engagein such behavior.

Mini-GrantsThe Department of the Attorney

General has developed a mini-grant

program that provides civil rightsteams up to $300 for projectsaddressing bias, prejudice, andharassment. Civil rights teams haveused these grants to buy materialsfor bulletin boards focusing on civilrights issues; to pay for speakerson civil rights issues; to producedocumentary films showing theimportance of preventing bias, prejudice, and harassment; and tofund numerous other projects.

Statewide Conferences Each spring, the Department

of the Attorney General holds astatewide conference for all of thecivil rights team students and theiradvisers. In spring 1999, more than1,000 students attended the confer-ence, which was held at the CivicCenter in Augusta, the state capital.Students attended plenary andbreakout sessions on understandingdifferent aspects of diversity anddeveloping skills to pursue civilrights causes within their schools.

Summary The success of the Maine Civil

Rights Team Project lies in its abili-ty to tap the energies of the largenumber of students who are com-mitted to ensuring that schools areplaces where respect for differenceis valued and where no studentshould be scared because ofharassment or violence. Increas-ingly, student civil rights teammembers are becoming leadersin their schools in confrontingharassment and promoting diversi-ty and respect for difference.


VI. The Massachusetts Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes


The Massachusetts Governor’sTask Force on Hate Crimes has initiated a two-part school projectfocusing on preventing hate vio-lence. The first component of theprogram was the establishmentof civil rights teams in sevenMassachusetts high schools in fall1999. The second component,scheduled for May 1–7, 2000, isStop the Hate Week, a publicawareness and education campaigntargeting schools and communitiesthroughout the Commonwealth.BJA has provided funding for bothcomponents of the project.

The Civil Rights TeamProgram

In early fall 1999, the Task Forceselected seven pilot high schools assites for civil rights teams. The civilrights teams are located in highschools throughout the Common-wealth. The teams, which have12 to 18 students, work in theirschools to promote an understand-ing of diversity and to decreaseschool-based bias, prejudice, andharassment.

The Task Force partnered withthe National Conference forCommunity and Justice to developcurricula and conduct training forthe seven civil rights teams.

In mid-October 1999, NCCJ conducted a 2-day training pro-gram for more than 100 studentsand faculty advisers. The work-shop’s activities increased the stu-dents’ understanding of their ownbiases and prejudices and taughtthem skills to make their schoolsmore accepting of difference andultimately safer. NCCJ and theTask Force also developed a cur-riculum for training teachers onhow to reduce bias, prejudice,harassment, and hate violence intheir schools. During 2000, theTask Force will conduct half-dayworkshops for faculty, staff, andadministrators at each of the sevenschools with civil rights teams.

The Governor’s Task Forceis creating a Web site (www.stopthehate.org) for the project.The site has two components: Thefirst provides public information onthe Task Force’s programs, and thesecond is accessible by civil rightsteams with a private password.This site will permit student mem-bers of civil rights teams in Maine,Massachusetts, and West Virginia(which established a civil rightsteam project in 15 schools in 1999through its Attorney General’sOffice) to communicate with oneanother.



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Stop the Hate WeekIn the first week of May 2000,

the Task Force, in conjunction withthe seven participating civil rightsteams, will sponsor Stop the HateWeek in middle and high schoolsthroughout the state. The event willdistribute hate crimes curricula toschools throughout Massachusettsand promote “bystander responsi-bility” for acting against bias, prej-udice, and hate crimes. Stop theHate Week will also include cultural

and educational activities such asart exhibits on civil rights history;speaking events featuring survivorsof the Holocaust; communityforums in Boston, Worcester, andSpringfield; and a variety of pro-grams directed and sponsored bystudents themselves. The TaskForce expects to disseminate pub-lic service announcements tomedia outlets statewide focusingon civil rights issues and respectfor differences.


VII. Conclusion


NO ONE APPROACH EXISTS TO CON-FRONTING AND PREVENTING HATE

CRIMES IN THIS NATION. RATHER, HATE

CRIMES WILL ONLY BE SUCCESSFULLY

ADDRESSED WHEN COUNTLESS PEOPLE

THROUGHOUT THE 50 STATES WORK

TOGETHER TO DEVELOP APPROACHES THAT

ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR LOCAL COM-MUNITIES AND WORK INDIVIDUALLY TO

DEVELOP THE COURAGE AND SKILLS TO

SERVE AS ROLE MODELS OF CIVILITY AND

RESPECT. WE HOPE THAT OTHERS WILL

TAKE THE PROGRAMS DESCRIBED IN THIS

MONOGRAPH AS GUIDEPOSTS FOR DEVEL-OPING THEIR OWN PROGRAMS TAILORED

TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES.

—Rose OchiDirector

Community Relations ServiceU.S. Department of Justice

BJA and every component of theU.S. Department of Justice havemade it a priority to stop hate-motivated violence. Disturbing acts

of violence and harassment basedon racial and ethnic identity, reli-gion, nationality, sexual orientation,gender, and disability occur inevery type of American communi-ty, from the inner city to the small-est rural town. But in the face ofthis violence, communities arefighting back.

Like the organizations and com-munity leaders cited in this mono-graph, schools, civil rights groups,police departments, prosecutors’offices, county and local govern-ments, and neighborhood organiza-tions are taking action againsthate-motivated violence. Theirinnovative programs often take dif-ferent approaches, tapping eachcommunity’s unique resources.However, these communities arebound together by their creativityand by the dedication of the grow-ing number of men, women, andyouth who passionately devotetheir time and energy to confronthate crimes. BJA will continue tohighlight these promising andeffective programs, providingresources and ideas to other com-munities combating hate violence.



VIII. For More Information

Please use the contact informationbelow to learn more about theprograms discussed in this monograph.

Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Institutes Against Hate Crimes

Liebe Geft, DirectorMuseum of Tolerance9760 West Pico BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90035–4572310–553–8403World Wide Web:www.wiesenthal.com/Lucinda Freeman, Project

Coordinator 310–772–7619E-mail: [email protected]

San Diego Police Department and Anti-Defamation League’s Victim Assistance Project

Anna M. Knuth, Officer San Diego Police Department1401 BroadwaySan Diego, CA 92101–5729858–573–5040orMorris Casuto, Director San Diego Regional Office,

Anti-Defamation League7851 Mission Center CourtSuite 320San Diego, CA 92108–1328619–293–3770

Los Angeles County District Attorney’s JOLT Program

Linda Baek, Deputy District Attorney/JOLT Program Manager

320 West Temple Street Room 780–29Los Angeles, CA 90013213–893–2118

Maine Department of the AttorneyGeneral’s Civil Rights Team Project

Thomas Harnett, AssistantAttorney General

6 State House StationAugusta, ME 04333207–626–8848E-mail:[email protected] Wide Web:www.state.me.us/ag/crt/crt.htm

Massachusetts Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes

Christina Bouras, Executive DirectorGovernor’s Task Force on

Hate Crimes c/o Executive Office of Public Safety,

Programs Division1 Ashburton Place, Suite 2110Boston, MA 02108617–727–6300, Ext. 25339World Wide Web:www.stopthehate.org



20

For information from other organi-zations that are addressing hatecrimes, please contact any of theorganizations listed below.

Anti-Defamation League823 United Nations PlazaNew York, NY 10017212–490–2525

Arab American Institute918 16th Street NW., Suite 601Washington, DC 20006202–429–9210Fax: 202–429–9214

Bureau of Justice Assistance810 Seventh Street NW.,

Fourth FloorWashington, DC 20531202–616–6500Fax: 202–305–1367

Bureau of Justice Statistics810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–0765Fax: 202–307–5846

Community Relations ServiceU.S. Department of Justice600 E Street NW., Suite 2000Washington, DC 20530202–305–2935Fax: 202–305–3009

Disability Law Center11 Beacon Street, Suite 925Boston, MA 02108617–723–8455Fax: 617–723–9125

Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation

16 Hurd RoadBrookline, MA 02146617–232–1595Fax: 617–232–0281

Federal Bureau of InvestigationJ. Edgar Hoover Building10th Street and Pennsylvania

Avenue NW.Washington, DC 20535202–324–1143

Federal Bureau of InvestigationCriminal Justice Information

Services DivisionAttn: Uniform Crime Reports1000 Custer Hollow RoadClarksburg, WV 26306304–625–4995Fax: 304–625–5394

Human Rights Campaign919 18th Street NW.Washington, DC 20006202–628–4160Fax: 202–347–5323

International Association of Chiefs of Police

515 North Washington StreetAlexandria, VA 22314–2357703–836–6767Fax: 703–836–4543

National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium

1140 Connecticut Avenue NW., Suite 1200

Washington, DC 20036202–296–2300Fax: 202–296–2318


For More Information


National Conference of Christians and Jews

71 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1100New York, NY 10003212–206–0006Fax: 212–255–6177

National Congress of American Indians

2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW., Second Floor


National Council of La Raza1111 19th Street NW., Suite 1000Washington, DC 20036202–785–1670Fax: 202–776–1792

National Criminal Justice Association

444 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 618


National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

1700 Kalorama Road NW.Washington, DC 20009–2702202–332–6483Fax: 202–332–0207

National Network of Violence Prevention

55 Chapel StreetNewton, MA 02158617–969–7100Fax: 617–244–3436

National Women’s Law Center11 Dupont Circle NW., Suite 800Washington, DC 20036202–588–5180Fax: 202–588–5185

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–5911Fax: 202–307–2093

Office for Victims of Crime810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–5983Fax: 202–514–6383

President’s Initiative on One America

The Old Executive Office BuildingWashington, DC 20502202–395–1010

Simon Wiesenthal Center9760 West Pico BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90035310–553–9036Fax: 310–553–8007

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights624 Ninth Street NW.,

Suite 700Washington, DC 20425202–337–0382Fax: 202–376–7558

U.S. Department of Education600 Independence Avenue SW.Washington, DC 20202202–205–5557Fax: 202–205–5381



22

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

451 Seventh Street SW.,Room 10000


Violence Against Women Office800 K Street NW., Suite 900Washington, DC 20531202–616–8894Fax: 202–307–3911

Women’s Legal Defense Fund1875 Connecticut Avenue NW.,

Suite 710Washington, DC 20009202–986–2600Fax: 202–986–2539

For additional information aboutBJA programs, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000Rockville, MD 20849–60001–800–688–4252Fax: 301–519–5212

Clearinghouse staff are availableMonday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to beplaced on the BJA mailing list.

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center

1–800–421–6770 or202–307–1480

Response Center staff are availableMonday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time.


Bureau of Justice AssistanceInformation

General Information

❒ MailP.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849–6000

❒ Visit2277 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD 20850

❒ Telephone 1–800–688–4252 Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time

❒ Fax301–519–5212

❒ Fax on Demand1–800–688–4252

Callers may contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center for general informa-tion or specific needs, such as assistance in submitting grant applications and informationon training. To contact the Response Center, call 1–800–421–6770 or write to 1100Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20005.

Indepth Information

For more indepth information about BJA, its programs, and its funding opportunities,requesters can call the BJA Clearinghouse. The BJA Clearinghouse, a component of theNational Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), shares BJA program informationwith state and local agencies and community groups across the country. Information spe-cialists are available to provide reference and referral services, publication distribution,participation and support for conferences, and other networking and outreach activities.The Clearinghouse can be reached by

❒ BJA Home Pagehttp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

❒ NCJRS World Wide Web http://www.ncjrs.org

❒ [email protected]

❒ JUSTINFO NewsletterE-mail to [email protected] the subject line blankIn the body of the message,type:subscribe justinfo[your name]


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