FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     AG
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1998                           (202) 616-2777
                                                TDD (202) 514-1888

STATEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO ON HATE CRIME STATISTICS

"Today, the FBI is releasing statistics on hate crimes in 1996, gathered from law enforcement agencies across the country.

"This year, a record number of agencies--representing 84 percent of the nation's population--have provided information to the FBI on hate crimes. The statistics reveal more than 5,000 hate crimes based on race, more than 1,400 based on religion, and more than 1,000 based on sexual orientation.

"These statistics show what we long believed is true: hate crimes have long gone underreported, and we need surveys like this to understand the depth of the problem.

"Last year, President Clinton brought together law enforcement experts, community leaders and hate crime victims to highlight the need for every American to get involved in eradicating the cycle of prejudice and violence.

"To follow up, I asked all 93 U.S. Attorneys to appoint hate crime coordinators and form local working groups to focus on what must be done to combat hate crimes. I am asking those coordinators to come to Washington on February 18th for a conference to map out strategies and to bring their communities together to fight hate crimes.

"As I travel across this country, I see more anti-bias training and conflict resolution programs than ever before. In our schools and in our communities, I see them working. The Justice Department and Department of Education will soon distribute a hate crimes prevention manual to help teachers get young people to understand that they should celebrate their differences, and not fight over them.

"But we want to do more. The Justice Department has jurisdiction over federal hate crimes based upon race, color, religion and national origin. But the federal hates crime statutes do not permit us to investigate or prosecute most offenses motivated by a victim's disability, their gender, or their sexual orientation.

"That's why President Clinton and I have urged Congress to enact the Hate Crimes legislation co-sponsored by Senator Kennedy and Specter in the Senate and Congressman Schuster and McCollum in the House. I have asked Bill Lann Lee to work as hard as he can to help pass this legislation in Congress, and we will all be engaged in that effort.

"Violent crime has dropped for five years in a row. But we are just beginning to grasp the problem of hate crimes, and how best to fight back. And we are not going to let up."

# # #

98-004