Record-High NJ Bias Crimes Prompt Partnership With Feds

NEW JERSEY - Hate and bias are at an all-time high in the U.S., including in the Garden State, according to state officials. To curb bias-related crimes, the state has partnered with federal authorities to further hate crime prevention efforts.

In a new partnership dubbed United Against Hate, the federal government has selected three states - including New Jersey - to connect federal, state and local law enforcement with marginalized communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents.

“The numbers are clear. Hate and bias are at an all-time high across our nation and in New Jersey,” Acting Attorney General Platkin said in a statement. “One of the strongest tools we have at our disposal is the collaboration between government and community stakeholders. That is why I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with federal and state partners who share the same commitment and urgency to stem the tide of hate.”

“Through United Against Hate, we are bringing together the Justice Department, local law enforcement, and community leaders to strengthen our overall efforts to combat hate crimes and prevent hate incidents,” Assistant Attorney General Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division added. “Our communities, schools, workplaces and homes are all safer when we stand unified in the fight against hate.”

Overall, New Jersey law enforcement took in 1,871 reports of alleged bias incidents in 2021, up 29 percent from 2020. The record-high figures likely reflect a combination of improvements in the process for reporting hate crimes, community outreach and other developments linked to a rise in hate crimes and bias offenses nationwide, officials said.

According to the preliminary data, anti-Black and anti-Jewish bias were the most common race- and religion-based motivations for reported bias incidents in 2021, as in past years. Anti-Black bias was cited as a motivation for 686 reported bias incidents in 2020 and 877 reported bias incidents in 2021 — representing 39 percent of all reported motivations in both years. Anti-Jewish bias was cited as a motivation for 298 reported incidents in 2020 and 347 reported bias incidents in 2021 – representing 17 percent of all reported motivations in 2020 and 15 percent of all reported motivations in 2021. Related: Federal Hate Crimes Charged In Attack Spree On Ocean Co. Orthodox Jews

Additionally, the state office tallied 373 reported bias incidents against LGBTQ people last year — a 64 percent increase after 227 were reported in 2020. If these incidents are treated as a single category, they represent the second largest for reported bias incidents in 2021, behind anti-Black crimes.

The preliminary data also shows an increase in reported bias incidents against Asian people — 129 in 2021, an 87 percent increase from the 69 reports the prior year.

In fact, hate groups remain one of New Jersey's top threats to state security, according to a 2022 Terrorism Threat Assessment conducted by the state department of homeland security. The agency says cybersecurity attacks such as ransomware, along with homegrown violent extremists and white racially motivated extremists, as New Jersey's highest-level threats. Read more: White Hate Groups Pose Highest Threat To NJ, Homeland Security Says

White racially motivated extremists "will likely produce personal manifestos, collect extremist literature and stockpile weapons while aspiring to conduct lone offender attacks," the state homeland security department said in its report. A departmental review further revealed that U.S.-based WRMEs conducted at least 28 attacks over the last five years, resulting in 52 deaths and 79 injuries.

The 42-page assessment can be viewed here.

See something? Say something: you can report civil rights violations through the https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement or call the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339.

With reporting by Josh Bakan.