The New York Police Department announced it has created a specific task force to deal with the rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community amid the coronavirus pandemic.
What We Know:
- Since the pandemic took over the United States in March, there have been a reported 21 anti-Asian hate crimes, leading to 17 arrests, which Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said is higher than normal. “This increase was cultivated due to the anti-Asian rhetoric about the virus that was publicized and individuals began to attack Asian New Yorkers, either verbal attack or physical assault,” Harrison said. “We saw a spike in every borough throughout the city.”
- Harrison shared that while the current Hate Crimes Task Force was investigating the crimes, a specialized team was seen as necessary because sometimes victims wouldn’t follow up in the investigation or with investigators due to language barriers, cultural differences, and fear of the police.
- Deputy Inspector Stewart Loo proposed the task force during the city’s most significant spike in hate crimes, which was back in May. Loo said that right now, the team has 25 Asian American officers who speak multiple languages, which will hopefully allow them to develop a rapport with victims without using a translator. “I’m here to say without question with this task force that we do care, and the NYPD is doing everything they can for the Asian American community,” Loo said
- Loo shared that he knew a new task force needed to be created after he and other police observed a “very disturbing trend” online of videos being shared that showed physical violence or verbal assaults against the Asian Americans, adding that they “actively searched” for victims who hadn’t reported the crimes against them. “This wasn’t just a New York City phenomenon; it was worldwide,” Loo said. “This hit home for me because I have friends, family who are legitimately afraid to go outside because they fear for their safety.”
- Discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans has been on the rise across the United States since COVID-19 began spreading across the nation. A website, “Stop AAPI Hate,” was launched on March 19 and includes a tool to self-report harassment, discrimination, and violent attacks. By mid-May, it recorded nearly 1,900 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination across the country. That number is thought to be much higher and only a fraction of the true total because, statistically, less than half of hate crime victims ever report.
- In a statement released by Asian Americans for Equality, co-executive directors Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu said that far more has to be done to combat the attacks and violence against the Asian American community, that together we need to address the root cause of racism and work to mitigate the health disparities in communities of color that have become extremely evident during the pandemic. “We applaud the NYPD for creating this task force and believe it can only help to have officers who speak the language and know our communities dedicated to investigating hate crimes against Asian Americans,” the statement read. “At the same time, Asian Americans in New York City and nationwide have now been subjected to months of physical violence and racist tirades.”
The NYPD confirmed the new task force will be permanent and said similar culture-based task forces will be considered.
