Piscataway, N.J. – Speaking today on a panel at the Rutgers Presidential Symposium: “Fighting Hate While Preserving Freedom: A Best Practices Forum,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal discussed newly released statistics from the New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit’s 29th annual Bias Incident Report. The report is based on information submitted by every law enforcement agency in the state. The report shows an increase in bias incidents over the prior year.
Prior to 1988, no agency within New Jersey had collected complete data on bias incidents. As a result, a committee was created to develop a comprehensive statewide reporting system. Due to the committee’s recommendation, Attorney General Executive Directive 1987-3 was issued mandating that all New Jersey law enforcement agencies begin reporting bias incident offenses to the State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit on a monthly basis effective January 1, 1988.
The data collected in the Bias Incident Report serves as a tool to identify problems, recognize trends and assist with working toward solutions.
In 2016, New Jersey law enforcement agencies reported in 417 bias incident offenses, a 14 percent increase compared to 2015.
“It’s sad that we see bias incidents trending upward, but it’s not surprising, given that we have political leaders in this country who encourage the expression of intolerance and hatred, or in other cases, ignore or countenance it,” said Attorney General Grewal. “What we need to do, as individuals and as a society, is to push back against this prejudice. We need to embrace the diversity that makes us stronger as a state and a nation, and we need to spread a countervailing message of tolerance and unity. To quote Nelson Mandela, ‘No one is born hating another person.’ If people can learn to hate, they also can learn to love and respect one another.”
“The tracking and reporting of these incidents paint a disturbing picture of intolerance, discrimination and their corresponding criminal acts,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Acting Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “All residents of this great state should feel free to be who they are without the fear of being victimized because of their race, religion or any other identifiable status. The Bias Incident Report will enable law enforcement to work collaboratively and more effectively to investigate these incidents and identify the perpetrators.”
Bias Incident Statistical Summary:
Follow the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office online at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flicker & YouTube. The social media links provided are for reference only. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications.
####
