By COLlive reporter
New York state police officers must be trained in how to recognize and respond to hate crimes under a new law, JTA reports.
The city is facing a rise in hate crimes – anti-Semitic incidents in particular. The city has seen an alarming spike in verbal and violent anti-Semitic attacks against Jewish people and institutions in recent months.
Brooklyn is bearing “a disproportionate share of those crimes,” newly appointed NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a meeting with Jewish community leaders last week.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure on Monday.
“Hatred has no place in New York State and we will continue taking aggressive measures to stamp out hate whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The bill instructs the state Division of Human Rights and Hate Crimes Task Force to develop procedures for training law enforcement to handle hate crimes. It does not detail exactly what the training will entail.
The bill’s chief sponsors are State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic of the New York City borough of Queens and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Long Island, both Jewish lawmakers.
“With the steady surge of hate crimes across New York, there is little room for complacency,” Rozic said in a statement. “This new law will equip local law enforcement with the proper tools to identify, report, and respond to these crimes that continue to divide and instill widespread fear.”
How about teaching people to be nice to each other.
How about learning to defend our selves and our family. Buy a gun, learn to clean and maintain it. It is better to be a worrior on a farm than a farmer in a war.