CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Persons targeted with harassment because of their gender, race, religion, sexuality or nation of origin do not have to tolerate such behavior since they now have an ally in law enforcement.
The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office is presenting the program “Stop the Hate” at 5 p.m. Feb. 8 in Performing Arts Center at Middle Township High School.
Capt. John Landis of the Prosecutor’s Office said the program is designed to educate the community about bias crimes and hate crimes. He said a goal was for the public to understand the difference between bias crimes and bias incidents and how one could lead to the other.
“It’s not just important to report a bias crime, when someone does actually commit an offense against you, but also a bias incident,” he said.
Landis said someone using their freedom of speech could call you a derogatory name based upon your gender, your race, your sexuality or your religion and while it’s not a crime, it should be reported because it is a bias incident.
From the viewpoint of law enforcement, if you’re committing bias incidents, calling people names and talking disparagingly about their nationality, their gender and their choices in life, eventually that’s probably going to lead to a bias incident and a possible violent incident, he said.
“That’s where criminal charges would come into play but a lot of times people don’t think to report that type of stuff because they don’t really know that we use that to kind of build a pattern,” Landis said.
When a person eventually acts out, calls you a derogatory name and hits you, which is assault, police will have a record of the person using the same derogatory name repeatedly, he said.
“It wasn’t just a one-time incident, they targeted that person,” Landis said.
The county Prosecutor’s Office is beginning a safe place initiative which was created by the Seattle Police Department. Any public building or business, such as a store or library, can sign up with the prosecutor’s office and agree to put a decal in their window stating it’s a safe place, a place to go if an individual is being targeted, followed or harassed.
“They will keep you safe there, call 9-1-1 for you and allow you to remain there until the police come and can investigate what’s going on,” Landis said. “Our hope is to flood the entire county, every municipality, so that wherever you go, you see these stickers, essentially making people feel more safe.”
“It’s almost a welcoming factor, you’ll know that everyone is accepted there,” he continued.
Landis said he hopes members of the public of all ages, business owners and school personnel will attend the event.
“This is a topic that goes from what’s happening in our grade schools, to what’s happening in our high schools, colleges, in the workforce,” he said. “Bias and hate crimes are everywhere.”
Everyone can understand that by calling someone a hurtful name, just because of the way they look, the way they dress or the manner they represent their religion, can be damaging and hurtful and it’s wrong, Landis said.
“We want to let everybody know that we have to just be nice to each other, respect each other,” he said.
Landis said someone who is being targeted should look for a sticker in a window noting it is a safe place where help will be summoned.
While Cape May County is not inundated with bias crimes, they periodically occur here, he said. Landis said bias incidents occur where one specific person is not targeted but when a person may voice their hatred towards something broader.
“That’s something that we want people to report and document, so that we can use that as sort of like a chain to show the progression,” he said.
If someone feels they are in danger, they should call 911, Landis said. If someone writes a slur on the sidewalk in front of your house, you should contact local police but not by calling 911, instead using the non-emergency phone number, he said.
“All bias crimes and incidents though are forwarded to the prosecutor’s office and depending on the circumstances with the police department with sometimes with the attorney general’s office, which will be notified as well, will investigate further to see if is in fact a crime or it was just an incident,” Landis said.
He said he is not seeing increased bias incidents and crimes.
“I would say that it is a continuous, steady flow, that we still haven’t been able to break the cycle of hatred,” he said. “I do think that we are doing a better job in trying to break the cycle, in the police departments in working with the community, not just in the facet of what our job is to protect and serve and lock people up, but to be proactive, and rolling stuff like this out with the partners in our community to help keep our citizens safe.”
Landis is the LGBTQ+ liaison for law enforcement in the county, working with organizations to try to advocate for persons who feel they are not being treated fairly.
“It’s just a program that we want to let the people know that we care about everybody and we want everybody to feel safe, no matter who you are or where you come, from walking down any street in Cape May County,” he said.
Landis and another detective will speak at the event about bias incidents versus bias crimes and the reporting process and why it’s important and how to recognize one from the other. Information will be presented for how businesses can participate in safe place program.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff