Ruth Bayan
Northwest Asia Weekly
The proposed stop hate crime hotline is one step closer to becoming a reality. It unanimously passed the Law and Judicial Committee of the King County Council on August 31.
The King County Attorney’s Office reported a significant increase in hate crimes—from 30 in 2018 to 59 in 2020. At the same time, multiple studies have shown that hate crimes are still severely underestimated.
County Councillor Reagan Dunn, who proposed the establishment of the hotline, said: “A dedicated hotline will provide a direct way to report hate crime incidents, thereby increasing all communities’ access to justice.”
The motion requires King County to set up a working group to establish and activate a non-police hotline and reporting system to enable residents to report these incidents.
The working group will include participants from the Department of Community and Human Services, the Seattle and King County Department of Public Health, the Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, and representatives of community organizations representing people affected by hate crimes.
In the first comprehensive supplementary budget approved by the county council in late June, the proposed stop hate crime hotline received $150,000 in funding. Now that it has passed the committee, it will be sent to the Quanjin County Council for a final vote in September.
It is also proposed to establish a dedicated hate crime department within the Sheriff’s Office. If approved, the department will include four King County Sheriff’s deputies and a support staff. It will be responsible for developing a standard system to collect, analyze and report on hate crime incidents, and formulate policies that take into account the safety, fear and suffering of victims and their families. The Sheriff’s Office will also develop a community involvement plan to encourage victims of hate crimes to report.
Ruth can be at editor@nwasianweekly.com.
