August 12th, 2024 SAGE leads meet with/plead to Howell's Mayor and the Chief of Police, to no avail
In an attempt to be prepared for the next eruption of hate that may hit our community SAGE requested that the City implement a ‘Community-Based Hate Incident Response System’ as outlined in the Michigan Department of Civil Rights ‘Community Response Manual’ in hopes of reaching a more comprehensive approach to dealing with the recent hate instances. Despite written follow up on 8/15/24, see below, nothing comes of that meeting.
Dear Sirs,
Thanks so much again for taking the time to speak with us, we appreciate the dialogue and consideration of exploring proactive and reactive strategies to hate incidents in our community. Below is the manual that we had discussed looking further into regarding what specifically we could be implementing to help when our community experiences eruptions of hate.
Anthony Lewis, the Department of Civil Rights community engagement and education director, said his agency has taken steps to counteract “bias incidents” and hate crimes which included setting up the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes. They produced "an online series about possible hate and bias occurrences and created a community response system (CRS) manual. This manual, Lewis said, is a guide to ways communities can rally their residents to heal from a bias incident or hate crime and help prevent others.”
A GUIDE FOR CREATING AND MAINTAINING COMMUNITY BASED COLLABORATIONS TO ADDRESS HATE AND BIAS
“MIAAHC can put you in touch with its statewide network of resources for community response, education, law enforcement and training, victim support and data collection. MIAAHC partners are a resource for education and training needs, best practice initiatives, and making the connection to victim support and other resources. In addition, growing networks of local community response systems are available to communities across the state and are ready to share and engage in your efforts.” Contact: Telephone: 1-800-482-3604 // 1-517-335-3165 Email: mdcrcrt@miaahc.com
What happened recently in Howell with the Nazis is described as a “BIAS INCIDENT - A non-criminal act, directed against a victim, their advocate or property, motivated in whole or in part by bias against a protected group and based on the real or perceived race, color, ethnic background, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.”
Why is community response (CRS) so important?
“Hate crimes and bias instances call into question a community’s ability to protect its citizens and their property and undermine the community’s safety, image, and sense of security. Even where there is no criminal intent the impact is traumatic and intimidating.” (p5)
Strategies we need to explore (p7)
“A CRS can pave the way for a more comprehensive response to hate. It can provide education, training, and opportunities for dialogue to increase understanding and promote prevention. Additionally, it can support the individual(s) and/or groups targeted by hate activity and bring the community together to heal and restore trust.”
Data Collection.
Establish a coordinating unit to receive, document and monitor hate crimes and bias incidents that occur within the community. Ensure that information about the incident is collected appropriately and shared to help the statewide community response network do its work. Inform the public on how to report. ‘Hate Crime Reporting Virtual Forum’ by the MDCR -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hboxeeY1pDw
Develop a mechanism to effectively address community needs.
Identify needs and provide necessary support and resources for the targets of hate. Inform the community on the process and provide educational information.
Review policies and procedures with law enforcement.
Ensure that training is available to develop multicultural competence and respond to hate crimes/instances. Video on ‘Eliminating Hate and Bias in Law Enforcement through policies, practices, and training’ created by the MDCR -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbS9yYg5cA8
*Note- we did check the 'Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police' website’s accredited agency page, but could not find the individual officers who voluntarily took the training. Can we get a number of how many in the Howell PD have taken it upon themselves to have that extra training?
Form a ‘Hate & Bias Response Team’
A collaboration among governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community members to provide support for community members who are targets of hate and bias incidents, helps build relationships between community members targeted by hate and between residents and key institutions in the community, pinpoints problems before they escalate and prevent hate crimes, and builds trust and better relationships between law enforcement and the community.
Additional resources for hate crimes and bias incidents in Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/mdcr/hate-crimes