New report on bias crimes issued |
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Seattle Gay News
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posted Friday, June 25, 2010 - Volume 38 Issue 26 New report on bias crimes issuedby Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer The Seattle City Auditor's Office has issued a new report on bias crimes in the city. 'The Follow-up Report on 2008 Audit: The City's Enforcement of Bias Crimes' is, as the title suggests, an account of how the City addressed recommendations made by the Auditor's Office two years ago. The Follow-up Report also includes data on bias crimes for the period January 2008 through June 2009. Community activist Ken Molsberry, whose groundbreaking study "Bias Crimes and Incidents in Seattle: 2000 to 2005: An Analysis by Type of Bias and Neighborhood" sparked the City's 2008 study, also issued a response to the Follow-up Report. The Follow-up Report was presented to the City Council's Public Safety and Education Committee on June 16. The 2008 Bias Crimes Audit made 17 specific recommendations. Of those, the Follow-up reported that nine were implemented and three were "partially implemented." Better tracking Perhaps the most significant improvement is a mandatory check-off field for bias crimes in police officers' incident reports. "An officer will have to check a box to show whether the crime was bias or not," City Auditor in Charge Mary Denzel told the committee. "So even if it gets a bit automatic over time, at least it brings it to their attention." SPD has also completed its shift to the so-called SPIDER (Seattle Police Information, Dispatch, and Electronic Reporting) computerized reporting system, and modified it so that it actually prevents officers from completing their reports until they specify whether the crime they are reporting was a bias crime or not. Accurate collection and reporting of bias crimes data is important not only to track unsolved cases, but also because SPD assigns its resources on the basis of expected needs. Unreported bias crimes result in fewer resources being allocated to bias crimes investigation. Molsberry's response to the Follow-up, in the form of a letter to Mayor Mike McGinn, the City Council, SPD Acting Chief John Diaz, and other officials, approved SPD's efforts in this area. "It is encouraging to read in the Auditor's report that Seattle Police Department (SPD) has taken substantial steps to improve its tracking of bias attacks (both crimes and incidents)," Molsberry wrote. "It is also encouraging to read that SPD has increased the training its officers and staff receive in handling bias attacks and has clarified the role of its bias crimes coordinator," his letter continued. The SPD's Capt. Mike Washburn told the committee that new officers receive a full-day training in the cultural norms of different Seattle communities, and in profiling training. SPD also provides regular refresher courses for veteran officers, another recommendation of the 2008 audit. The bias crimes coordinator is the SPD detective assigned to investigate bias crimes and receive reports on bias crimes investigated by other units. That individual is now charged with providing training on bias crimes to the public and facilitating SPD officer's training. Improvement needed Molsberry's letter also highlights areas where the City's response to bias crimes needs improvement. "There are four areas where we need to continue to improve in our response to, and prevention of, bias attacks," he wrote. o "A. The most important area remaining to be addressed is for the mayor and City Council to expand the roles of non-SPD City agencies, such as the Seattle Office of Civil Rights (SOCR) and the Seattle Human Rights Commission (SHRC), to include community and general public outreach, education and prevention efforts around bias. This is Recommendation 14 in the auditor's report, which the auditor notes as 'Not implemented.' o "B. Annually publish a report of bias-motivated incidents and crimes, and make it readily available to the public. This is Recommendation 8 in the auditor's report, which the auditor notes as 'Partially implemented' on the basis that the system exists to make it possible. o "C. Provide a centralized means for victims of all types of bias attacks to report those attacks outside of SPD. This is Recommendation 2 in the auditor's report, which the auditor notes as 'Not implemented.' o "D. Conduct a biennial audit of the recording and investigation of bias attack reports to ensure that crimes are being recorded and investigated as crimes rather than as incidents; and that the proper bias focus ('race,' 'sexual orientation,' 'religion,' etc.) is being recorded whenever possible in the bias crimes/incidents database." According to the Follow-up Report, "The City's Human Rights Commission has expressed an interest in working with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to implement Recommendation 14, which calls for improving community outreach, education, and prevention efforts around bias attacks." That would address Molsberry's first suggestion for improvement. The Follow-up also notes that three recommendations from 2008 will not be implemented because "they would require additional resources that are not available during the City's current budget difficulties: o "Recommendation 2 regarding improved coordination with community groups to encourage victim reporting of bias crimes; o "Recommendation 15 regarding providing victim assistance to victims of bias incidents; and o "Recommendation 16 regarding increasing the amount of time SPD Liaison Officers can spend on community work related to bias attacks." The Follow-up also notes that "the City has not appointed a coordinator for cross-department efforts to address bias attacks (Recommendation 10)." City Council member Tim Burgess, chair of the Public Safety and Education committee that received the OCA's Follow-up Report, told SGN that the City Council will take up many of the unimplemented recommendations "in the fall, as part of the budget process." Burgess said he was particularly interested in victim assistance, and noted that SPD "has victim advocates, but they don't work with victims of bias crimes." "We might be able to get the police just to [include bias crime victims] on their own," Burgess said, "or we could do it through the budget process." Bias crime numbers The Follow-up reported 65 files examined by the OCA, including malicious harassment cases, bias incidents, and other incidents. "Bias incidents" typically involve name-calling or other actions which are reported to police, but are not charged as crimes. "Bias crimes" or "malicious harassment" can include vandalism, as well as assault, or more serious crimes. It concluded that in the period it studied - January 2008-June 2009 - as well as in every year except 2001, "the most frequent bias attacks concern a person's race or sexual orientation." The Follow-up Report also notes that bias incidents targeting sexual orientation are trending upwards, while those targeting race are trending downwards. "The numbers of General Offense (police) reports in the Bias Crimes Coordinator's records decreased in 2008 from 2007, and data for the first six months of 2009 was on track to be similar to 2008. However, for the first six months of 2009 the number of attacks based on sexual orientation was almost equal to all of 2008 (12 for the first six months of 2009 versus 13 for 2008), whereas the number of attacks based on race was about half the total for all of 2008 (6 in the first half of 2009 versus 10 for all of 2008)," the Follow-up says. Of the 65 incidents reported in the Follow-up, 18 were referred for prosecution in either Seattle Municipal Court or King County Superior Court. Charges were filed in eight cases, and seven defendants were eventually convicted. According to Capt. Washburn's testimony at the City Council's committee hearing, there were 133 bias incidents in 2009, of which 82 were bias crimes. Forty-one percent of the bias crimes targeted race while 37% targeted LGBT victims. Washburn said SPD made a total of 34 arrests in these cases. Statistics on the disposition of these cases are not yet available for the period after June 2009. |
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