Above: “These crimes are not just against an individual. They are an affront to the whole community,” said Chief of Police Steve Palmer.
Officials urge public to report incidents to help them gather hate-group data; commissioner absent from planned address on anti-Semitism.
Top Nassau County Police officials, including the new 5th Precinct commander, encouraged members of the Jewish community Tuesday night (7/18) not to hesitate to call 911 to report incidents, while launching a new anti-hate crime initiative.
“Nine-one-one is the quickest way to get a response, the quickest way for to bring together all of our resources the county has to bear,” said Chief of Department Steve Palmer. “Every incident matters.”
The Nassau County “Stop The Hate!” program establishes a Bias Incident Hotline (516-500-0657) to report incidents or text photos, with a promise that all calls are returned during business hours. Photos can also be emailed to combatbias@pdcn.org. A separate hotline, (800) 244-TIPS, is for information about bias incidents, with a $500 reward for tips leading to an arrest.
The event at the Young Israel of West Hempstead, the largest synagogue in town, was meant to be a community forum on fighting anti-Semitism with Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
Although Ryder didn’t arrive as scheduled, for reasons unstated, the Department was well represented by Palmer, recently appointed 5th Precinct Commander Jimmy Crawford, Deputy Chief of Detectives James Bartscherer and Tom Calvert, a detective in the Asset Forfeiture and Intelligence unit.
The officials reported that so far in 2023, there have been 23 bias crime incident reports in the county, of which 11 involved anti-Jewish incidents.
Bartscherer explained that when police investigate an incident of assault, criminal mischief, harassment or more serious crimes, and are able to determine that bias based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or other factors motivated the assailant, “We can then charge them with an elevated crime, and if convicted they can face further penalties from the court.”
That makes it crucial for victims and witnesses to aid investigations with the maximum amount of information. If bias is indicated, the detective added, a responding officer will call the patrol supervisor on duty, who can then refer the investigation to specially trained officers and the District Attorney’s office. “These crimes are not just against an individual,” Palmer said. “They are an affront to the whole community, and that’s why we take it so seriously.” Assessing these crimes, he added, helps determine whether to redeploy patrol resources.
Bartscherer noted that although those victimized by hate graffiti, such as the painting of swastikas, would naturally want to promptly remove the symbols, this could mean destroying important evidence. He asked the public to “be patient” and wait for police to document the crime first. He also cautioned that well-intentioned posting of photos of hateful graffiti or messages on social media can inadvertently help hate groups recruit new members. “Be vague” in sharing these reports, he advised.
Hate groups that distribute leaflets and other material “know how to go just up to the edge” that is protected by the First Amendment while getting their message across, Bartscherer said.
That makes it important for the department to monitor these groups, sometimes using covert social media accounts, in order to keep tabs on them and determine when a line might be crossed, said Calvert, the intelligence detective, who has previously worked in military intelligence.
“We are very lucky in this county to take full advantage of the NYPD and their intelligence division, and we even have NYPD detectives assigned to work with us,” Calvert added. “We share a common border and deal with some of the same people.” He said in the years immediately following the 9-11 terror attacks, more and more midsize and large police departments have established or beefed up their intelligence units.
At the same time, within the last eight years, hate groups have ratcheted up their activities, more likely to use buzzwords tied to immigration and family values instead of swastikas and Nazi slogans. They have also harnessed the Internet and social media to get new followers to distribute stickers and fliers, then post about the experience, enabling the groups to galvanize new members and create cells.
He noted that many groups may deliberately try to provoke law enforcement to make arrests in order to file a civil lawsuit against them on Constitutional grounds, to invest the proceeds in their organizations. “We don’t want to help them with that,” he said. “But rest assured there is a lot going on [behind the scenes.] We are very proactive.”
Bartscherer said that in addition to the 11 reports of anti-Jewish bias, the tally so far this year included six anti-Black reports, two anti-white, one anti-gay and one each involving Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Asians.
Speaking for the Jewish community, Rabbi Joshua Goller of the Young Israel of West Hempstead cited the community’s deep gratitude for police attentiveness to its safety and security. “On a random day you can find any one patrol car stationed outside one of the shuls in the community, because they simply care,” said the rabbi.
Echo captured video of the event, and these are selections from the full presentation
