Feiner Calls For County Hate Crime Database

GREENBURGH, NY — In the wake of recent vandalism of town and religious buildings in Yorktown, Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is renewing a suggestion to have a public county-wide data listing of all hate crime incidents in Westchester. He said the database would help prosecutors, local officials and the public understand the extent of the problem and the successes police have in finding those who committed the offenses.

Feiner said the database should have a summary of the incident and the date it occurred. It should also state if an arrest was made and, if there was a conviction, what the punishment was.

"I believe that the state legislature should impose minimum punishments against those who commit hate crimes," he said.

"We frequently hear of the incidents but there is not much public follow up on whether the police caught those committing the hate crime — especially if it was not violent," Feiner said.

He said if those who deface property with hateful graffiti would know that there is a strong possibility of getting caught and if they were aware of punishments, they might think twice before committing the act.

"We can't look the other way," Feiner said. "Non-violent hate eventually motivates others to violence as we saw in New Jersey and Monsey."

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