Rise in Hate Crimes Elicits Fairfax County Response

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - Around 250 Fairfax County residents packed the cultural center at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus Sunday to discuss how to combat hate crimes and speech. Concerns over an uptick in hate crimes both in the Fairfax County area and across the U.S. promoted officials and religious leaders to hold the meeting.

The event featured remarks from Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax), Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, Fairfax County government and school district officials, police and faith leaders. The discussion centered on how the different entities were addressing hate crimes and how the community can identify and address incidents too.

Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. said the number of hate-related incidents from 2015 to 2016 increased 60 to 83. He encouraged residents to report incidents to 911. “It might not be a crime, it might not be a crime, but the important piece is that engagement,” Roessler said.

Recent incidents across the U.S. and in Fairfax County have targeted faith groups. In late February, the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church received hate speech in the mail and a fake bomb threat. A few days earlier, Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax received a bomb threat.

Leaders from an area mosque and synagogue recounted a surge of hate mail and children being threatened in school. “In the last five months, I’ve received no less than one call per week from a parent with a story to tell about hurtful words, anti-Semitic words...and particularly the rise of the swastika,” said Rabbi Amy Schwartzman of the Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church.

The two worship centers are no strangers to hate-related incidents. In April 2015, the Westboro Baptist Church protested the synagogue, to which other Jewish and Christian congregations responded with a peaceful march. In November 2015, an intruder left a hoax explosive at Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Faith leaders can address these incidents and other community issues at the Fairfax County Clergy and Leadership Council, which meets four times a year.

A number of questions from the audience focused on how the school district was handling hate-related incidents. Mary Ann Panarelli, director of Intervention and Prevention Services for Fairfax County Public Schools, noted that responses to student behavior depend on the seriousness of the incident. While sometimes the district sends investigations to the police and other times it cannot identify the responsible student, different levels of interventions can occur.

Panarelli said that restorative justice conferences with the students and parents involved in the incident has proven more effective than traditional discipline.

“In reality, when a kid is suspended for this type of behavior, they just get angry,” she said. “They’re out for one or two or three days, and it doesn’t really resolve the situation.

During the forum’s question and answer session, one resident’s comment received murmurs of agreement among attendees: “I hope we can be sure to condemn hateful ideas and rhetoric but not condemn the person. We’re trying to change hearts, not make hateful people more bitter.”

Fairfax County’s approximately 1.1 million residents represent one of Virginia’s most diverse counties. Sharon Bulova, chair of the Fairfax County of Supervisors, announced she would introduce a resolution reaffirming the county’s commitment to inclusion at the April 4 board meeting.

Photo from Sharon Bulova, Chair of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors