Campaign Urges Victims to Report Hate Crimes

In an effort to encourage more people to report hate crimes, law enforcement agencies and the private sector have joined together to distribute posters telling people what to do in case they are victimized.

“If there are no victims, and there is no crime report then there is no crime,” said San Diego Police Officer Matt Weathersby, who works as a liaison between the police and the gay and lesbian community. “But we know that’s not the case.”

Just last month, a group of teen-agers drove up and down the streets of Hillcrest throwing eggs at people and yelling derogatory statements at gays and lesbians, Weathersby said.

Since January, 50 hate crimes hae been reported countywide, said Sgt. Robbie Bethea of the Sheriff’s Department crime prevention unit.

A hate crime is defined by police as a crime committed on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

The public education campaign, unveiled at a press conference Thursday, centers around a poster that will be distributed throughout the county and displayed in businesses, libraries, places of worship, schools and other community centers, said Officer John Graham of the San Diego Police.

The project is sponsored by the San Diego Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, the local Anti-Defamation League and First Capital Life Insurance Co.

The 14-by-19 inch posters, titled “Hate Crimes Hurt,” will be written in six languages.

Each poster tells what a hate crime is, what victims should do and what information they should try to give police when reporting the crime.

Law enforcement officials said people often hesitate to report hate crimes because the fear nothing can be done, or they might be gays who shy away from the publicity or immigrants who don’t understand how the legal system works.