GLENDALE : Panel Calls for Team to Fight Hate Crime

The Glendale City Council is being urged to form a hate crimes response team that would rush to the aid of people who are attacked because of their race, religion, age, gender or sexual orientation, and would publicly denounce such crimes when they occur.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Community Relations, a 14-member panel whose members mirror the city’s diverse ethnic and social mix, will formally present the council next Tuesday with a resolution that, if adopted, would establish an official policy for dealing with hate crimes in Glendale.

“It’s important that we have a proactive stance,” said Alice Petrossian, director of intercultural education for the Glendale Unified School District and a task force member.

“Crime in general is unacceptable, but we need to make everyone in this city aware that crimes based on someone’s gender, age or ethnic or language background will not be tolerated,” she said.

City officials said 58 hate crimes have been reported in Glendale since the Police Department started keeping statistics on them 18 years ago.

But the task force was formed by Mayor Eileen Givens just this year, after several hate crimes were reported in the city--most notably the May spray-painting of anti-Armenian slogans at the headquarters of Homenetmen Ararat, an Armenian youth scouting organization.

The resolution condemns crimes committed against people because of their race, creed, color, national original, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. It also sets out a plan of action for the city to take in the event of a hate crime:

* When a hate crime is reported, the city--via a hate crimes response team to be formed through the Police Department or other officials--would contact the victim and help provide any needed assistance such as counseling, graffiti cleanup, repair of damaged property and so on.

* The city would issue a press release describing the incident and condemning the crime.

* The response team would determine what actions could be taken to prevent the incident from being repeated.

Rabbi Carole Meyers of Temple Sinai said the resolution will establish “a long-needed plan for the established, recognized leaders of Glendale to deal with hate crimes.”

“At the time (the Homenetmen incident) happened, there was no plan for how our city would respond to this,” Meyers said. “We have to speak out and say, ‘This is not what Glendale stands for; we welcome these people in our community.’ ”

Meyers said the task force will continue to meet, and will now focus its efforts on promoting ethnic tolerance.