Studies show, since 2017, hate crimes have risen nationally, and city-wide. Today, Austin's City Council approved six new positions with the Austin Police Depar
Studies show, since 2017, hate crimes have risen nationally, and city-wide. Today, Austin's City Council approved six new positions with the Austin Police Department Victim's Services to provide resources to victims of these crimes.
According to the City, these new employees would help hate crime victims navigate the criminal justice system and connect them with resources to help them recover from their trauma."We know locally, there are hate incidents and hate crimes that are on the rise," said Councilwoman Alison Alter.A stabbing took place at West Campus on February 4th that critically injured, 23-year-old Palestinian American, Zacharia Doar. The Austin Police Department classified the attack as a hate crime.Following the attack, Mayor Kirk Watson in his Watson Wire said, "This incident adds to the horrible rise in hate-motivated incidents everywhere – including in Austin. We cannot — we will not — tolerate hate..." Councilwoman Alter added, "As a city, we have made a commitment to try to improve our response to hate." Funding from the Victims of Crime Act on the federal level made these new hires possible, "improving our response to survivors of hate bias incidents is a top priority," said Alter. "One full position will be dedicated to working with individuals and families who have been the target of a crime motivated by hate or incident suspected to be motivated by hate or bias."provides statistics on local hate crimes, along with resources for people to report crimes. Councilwoman Alter said it's something she's proud of, along with the efforts from APD's Victim Services. "Our Victim Services department is the gold standard for the whole country and we have fabulous people in there who are trained to help you through this very difficult time," she added. Of the six positions, some are solely devoted to victims of hate crimes; Councilwoman Alter added, other positions would help counsel and navigate sexual assault and elderly people who have been frauded, to numerous resources.
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