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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 7, 2020 11:47 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Ed Gainey |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Law Enforcement Training on Investigating, Identifying and Reporting Crimes of Ethnic Intimidation (Part of Hate Crimes Legislation Package) - (Former HB 2012) |
| Hate Crimes have become part of American life, the new normal in our country. Law enforcement agencies disclosed 7,314 criminal and 8,559 related offenses as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity. However, the reporting of these incidents remain uneven and inconsistent, both by victims and law enforcement. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, a state of 12.7 million hate crimes continues to have a chronically low annual reporting rate. Sadly, it is not because hate crimes do not happen here. They do. It is because of an outdated and overly restrictive statute and the lack of understanding of what constitutes a hate crime. With the number of hate crimes increasing across the nation, it is time we provide our law enforcement officials with the tools they need to properly investigate, identify and report crimes of ethnic intimidation. This bill would go a long way in helping us to more accurately quantify the problem. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |