Oregon’s Attorney General is urging residents to call in hate crimes to authorities. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, this follows a rash of incidents after the election.
Hate crimes can include acts of violence, harassment, vandalism, or intimidation against a person’s race, religion, gender, and/or sexual identity.
The says there were more than 400 incidents in the week after Donald Trump’s election victory alone, particularly against African-Americans, Latinos, and Muslims.
Jennifer Van Der Haegen manages the City of Eugene’s Office of Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement. She says there’s not been a significant increase of hate crimes in the area recently, but…
“…these events go dramatically underreported,” says Van Der Haegen. “Between 25 and 42 percent are reported to police. And so while we haven’t seen a dramatic increase, we are doing our best to educate the community and let them know that we are here for them.”
Van Der Haegen says people can report hateful acts to her office, or to Eugene Police if the incident is criminal in nature.
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