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Sikhs, Arab-Americans Praise Expansion of Hate-Crime Tracking
Members of North Jersey’s Sikh and Arab communities on Friday lauded an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that the FBI will begin to keep numbers on acts of hate against their communities as well as against five other groups.
“That’s all we’ve been asking for,’’ said Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum, who had been lobbying for the change along with civil rights groups. “It’s a significant accomplishment for our community …. having this data will enhance law enforcement’s ability to counter actions against Arab-Americans.”
Attorney General Eric Holder, in a blog post on the agency’s website, wrote that the FBI will begin to track hate crimes against Sikh, Hindu, Arab, Buddhist, Mormons, Jehovah Witness, and Orthodox Christian individuals. The change comes after the Advisory Policy Board that advises the FBI on various issues, including reporting under the Uniform Crime Reporting program, recommended in June that it add a number of categories in its tracking of hate crimes. That recommendation later received approval from FBI Director Robert Mueller, Holder wrote.
“I’m confident that this change will help us better understand the law enforcement challenges we face,’’ Holder wrote. “It will empower us to better enforce relevant laws to protect everyone in this country. And it is emblematic of our unwavering resolve to prevent and seek justice for acts of hate and terror.”
The tracking will go into effect in January 2015 as part of the Uniform Crime Report, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Holder’s announcement came a few days before the one year anniversary of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin that left six dead and three others wounded.
Karmjit Singh Sidhu, president of the Sikh temple in Glen Rock, said that some bias crimes against Sikhs are a result of people confusing them with Muslims. He said since last year’s shooting, he has visited libraries and other organizations to educate the public about his religion. He said the new information that will be collected by the FBI will help leaders of the temple in strategizing.
“It will help us decide where we should be providing more information about us,’’ he said.
One of the wounded in the Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek Wisconsin was Punjab Singh, a guest preacher at the Glen Rock temple, who was shot in the face and still remains in a hospital.
Assaf, of the Arab American Forum, said the data also will allow mosques like the one he attends in Morris County to apply for federal funds to make their houses of worship safer.
“In New Jersey, mosques have applied for aid to enhance protection, but have not qualified because there is no concrete data that show there is a need,’’ Assaf said. “Now that we will have this imperative information on the extent of hate crimes against Arab-Americans, we will be able to justify the funding.”
Holder said that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Department has investigated more than 800 incidents involving violence, threats, assaults, vandalism and arson targeting Arabs, Muslims, Sikhs, South Asians and those perceived to be members of these groups. He said the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys Offices have brought prosecutions against 60 defendants in such cases, with 50 convictions to date.
In New Jersey, police already keep track of bias crimes against Arabs, Hindus and individuals of the Islamic faith, all listed in the State Police annual Bias Incident Offense Report. Stephen Jones, a State Police spokesman, said information collected in the annual Uniform Crime Reports in New Jersey is sent to the federal database, and that means that the Garden State also will add any new categories by the FBI to its information collection — “We do follow the categories laid out by the FBI, so whenever that is codified in the FBI, we will then follow suit,’’ he said.
Monsy Alvarado
North Jersey