We're Needed in the Fight Against Hate Crimes

A Message From the President

By Alfonso Lenhardt, President and CEO

Hate crime is a particularly vile type of crime that can destroy the lives of its victims while it also diminishes all of us as a society. I will leave an examination of the FBI’s new report on hate crime to the news section of this edition of Catalyst, but this type of crime deserves a few words upfront.

Hate crime can take many forms, ranging from threats to gang activity to murder that is motivated by bias rooted in race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. That’s a pretty wide net, but by definition it includes our society’s minorities and its disadvantaged, the people we in crime prevention should be protecting most. After all, it’s our mission to help keep people and their communities safe from crime. The disturbing rise of nooses and swastikas, relics of horrific times, as a means of intimidation indicates that the perpetrators feel that it’s safe to crawl out of the woodwork. It’s our job to show them they have no place in our society.

How do we do this?
 
First, we lead by example. We welcome everyone to our meetings and work groups. We make sure that everyone has a crack at the choice assignments and the chance to lead. We make sure that everyone is heard.

Second, even more, we make sure that our messages serve to unite communities, not divide them. We work to overcome divisions. We strive to create coalitions of different ethnic groups, and we work to prevent gang activity characterized by ethnic origin. 

And third, above all, we create and maintain a climate of hope. Surveys show that both McGruff and our messages are well-known and well-respected. We already teach our youth how to deal with hate crime in Community Works and other programs. But we can step up that effort by using our bully pulpit to preach the good word about crime prevention, gang prevention, community building, and the many other ways that the National Crime Prevention Council can help alleviate the scourge of hate crimes and show a better way that people should be treated in our America. 

By taking the measures outlined above, we will do much to protect those who are vulnerable and, at the same time, fulfill our leadership role as the center of excellence for crime prevention. This job is crying out for our particular kind of expertise and service, and it falls squarely within our purview. We, after all, are charged with preventing crime—hate crime included. Doing nothing would fail our communities and our neighbors; it is not an option. I have no doubt we will choose the right course, accept the challenge, and do our job well. That’s what we’ve always done. That’s what our fellow citizens expect of us.

Alfonso Lenhardt

President and CEO