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San Francisco to deploy undercover officers to fight hate crime

Xinhua, November 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Officials in San Francisco, a city on the U.S. west coast, have worked out an enforcement strategy to fight hate crimes, including deploying undercover officers as "a new proactive operation."

While delivering a message that "San Francisco has no room for hate," Mayor Edwin Lee was joined by San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Acting Chief Toney Chaplin, Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Evans Davis and other city officials and community leaders, in stepping up the city's efforts to fight against hate crime in the aftermath of the Nov. 8 presidential election.

"City officials and our community partners are united and determined to root out any prejudice in our great city," Lee told a press conference on Wednesday. "We will remain a city that embraces the values of inclusiveness, compassion for another, and diversity."

Officials believe hate crimes are among the many types of crime that go under-reported, and combating the issue will require enforcement strategies, education, outreach and highlighting resources already available to communities in need.

Chaplin, on his part, acknowledged that San Francisco has seen a roughly 10 percent increase in hate crimes this year, and a 28 percent increase from two years ago.

Short of offering specific undercover police operation, the acting chief said SFPD would use crime data to place plainclothes officers in areas where hate crimes had been previously reported, so that officers would be stationed in various neighborhoods in an effort to deter prejudiced crimes and, should a crime occur, to make a swift arrest.

"We want to make San Francisco a safe place for everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age ancestry or national origin," said Chaplin. "San Francisco police officers will be proactive in addressing prejudice based crimes and will vigorously investigate hate crimes with the goal of arresting suspects and bringing justice and support services to victims."

Officials asked more than 800,000 residents in San Francisco to reported incidents to the city's human rights commission, district attorney hate crimes hotline, police department hate crimes division and California Department of Fair Employment & Housing if they face discrimination as well as hate violence or threats of violence. Endit