Documenting and Reporting a Hate Crime or a Hate/Bias Incident

If you suspect that you or someone you know has been the victim of a hate crime or a hate/bias incident, here is a list of things to do as soon as possible:

1. Be sure that you and anyone with you are safe before you do anything else. If anyone (including yourself) is injured, get medical help right away.


2. If a crime is in progress, or if there is an immediate emergency, call 911 and report that there is a hate crime in progress.


3. If there are any witnesses, ask them for their names and contact information. If you have time, collect written statements from them about what took place. Ask them to sign and date their statements.


4. Take pictures and/or video footage of everything you can think of involving the crime: any damage, the location (including details like street signs or your license plates), the surroundings, and anything that supports your belief that the event was hate-motivated. For instance, if your car was vandalized and you have a rainbow-flag bumper sticker, take a picture of the sticker that also shows some of the rest of the car. If someone has been injured, get medical help and then document the injuries through photographs, videotape, and/or medical reports.

If you have been the victim of, or a witness to, a hate crime and you decide to report it to campus security and/or to the police, here are some guidelines:

1. Be forthright about the fact that you are reporting a hate crime. State that fact, along with the nature of the crime, clearly and firmly to the dispatcher who answers your call, and to the officer who responds. Be as calm and organized as you can, and be polite.


2. While you are waiting for the officer to arrive, gather your thoughts. The officer will want to know what happened, and she or he will also need to know why you consider the event a hate crime. Think about your evidence - are you visually identifiable as a member of a group that is the target of hate crimes? Do people in the area know that you are a member of such a group? If your residence or property was vandalized, do you think someone connected that property with you, or were there identifying markers on the property itself (rainbow flags or a mezuzah, for instance)? What about evidence from the perpetrators - was something written or said that was hate-motivated? Be prepared to explain your reasoning clearly and firmly to the responding officer, and be prepared to repeat yourself. Even well-meaning officers who are not themselves part of a target group for hate crimes may not see things as clearly as you do, so be ready to stand up for yourself if necessary, and to educate the officer in a respectful but clear manner.


3. Confirm, before the officer leaves, that the event will be recorded as a hate crime. Be sure you write down the officer's name or get a business card, write down the case number, and request a copy of the police or security report about your incident (you will probably need to pick it up later). Thank the officer for responding to your call.


4. If you report a hate crime to the Walla Walla Police Department, it is a good idea to call the Union-Bulletin office (525-3300) and request that your name be excluded from any report they may print of the crime. The Union-Bulletin still makes a practice of reporting "police events."