By LESLIE COLLINS
Northeast News
December 18, 2013

Kansas City isn’t immune to hate crimes. In the 2012 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) hate crimes statistics report, Kansas City comprised 47 percent of the state’s reported hate crime incidents. Of the 104 reported incidents in the state, 49 of those reports came from the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) and a total of 67 occurred in the Kansas City, Mo., metro area.

Heith Janke, FBI Kansas City Division supervisory special agent, stressed that the report is a voluntary reporting system for state and federal law enforcement agencies and that a number of hate crimes go unreported due to their sensitive nature.

Of the 49 incidents reported to the KCPD, 29 hate crime incidents were racially motivated; six incidents involved religion; 12 were based on sexual orientation and two were based on ethnicity, Janke said. None were reported based on a disability.

“What are we doing about it to combat those hate crimes? We just formed a (U.S.) Department of Justice community task force on hate crimes,” Janke said during the Dec. 11 Public Safety and Emergency Services Committee meeting. “Hate is real, and unfortunately, Kansas City is not immune.”

Combatting hate crimes requires a united effort by law enforcement and community members, said Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney in the Western District of Missouri. The goal of the task force is to prevent hate crimes and provide outreach, support and education, she said. The task force officially formed last month and is comprised of law enforcement officials, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kansas City Public Schools representatives, organizations that represent victims of hate crimes and other community members.

“The task force is completely and utterly voluntary,” she said. “We’re trying to be more inclusive than exclusive; we would like anyone to participate.”

“It’s our ultimate goal to be proactive in combatting hate crimes,” Janke said. “Too often, these are reactionary crimes for the FBI.”

The task force wants to prevent the hate crimes from occurring, he said.

Committee member Scott Taylor recalled public testimony he heard when the city passed its anti-bullying ordinance last January, which holds parents accountable for their children’s actions.

“The hate crimes start at a young age, and it’s a pattern that leads to worse and worse offenses as people get older,” Taylor said. “I think our statistics are much worse than reported; it’s a serious problem.”

“I wish I could say I’m surprised, but the reality is we have had a big, gaping wound in Kansas City for years that we’ve refused to talk about,” Committee member Michael Brooks said. “Children don’t automatically become racists. People have to teach them. What are we going to do about the next generation? We can’t fix the past… but how can we educate them so they become part of the solution?”

One of the first steps in finding a solution is to admit Kansas City has a problem, he said.

To promote the prevention of hate crimes, the task force will host a citywide hate crimes conference Jan. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. which will cover a variety of topics, including the definition of a hate crime, hate crime statistics and studies, bullying and ways to address bullying, national hate crime cases and more. All are invited to attend the conference which will be held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Student Union. Only 400 seats are available at this free event, and those wanting to attend the conference are asked to RSVP to rsvp-kc@ic.fbi.gov.