Orange-Osceola state attorney creates hate crimes task force with $1 million federal grant

The Orange-Osceola District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that it will expand efforts to address hate crimes through a newly created task force funded by a federal grant, as civil rights groups warn of a rising number of incidents and organized hate groups.

The $1 million grant, from the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Program from the U.S. Department of Justice, is one of 11 awarded to law enforcement agencies across the country – and the only one of its kind awarded to an agency in Florida this year.

The prosecutor’s office said the grant will be used to fund training programs for police and prosecutors investigating hate crimes while establishing an online reporting system in collaboration with the Stono Institute for Freedom, Justice and Security. According to its website, Stono is a think tank dedicated to combating existential threats to Black life and freedom.

Additionally, the money will go toward community mediation efforts for non-violent hate crimes, along with expanding community efforts to educate the public on how to report such incidents. They were subsidy recipients announced on September 25 by the DOJ, part of a $30 million package of various awards as state and federal authorities seek to support communities in investigating and healing from hateful incidents.

“Hate crimes are not just attacks on individuals, they are attacks on the fabric of our community,” said State’s Attorney Andrew Bain. “With this grant, we are strengthening our ability to combat hate crime, support victims and build a more just and safe society.”

In 2023, Florida reported 231 hate incidents, up from 209 the year before and an increase of more than 50% from 2019. according to federal data. The increase is partly explained by more agencies reporting and investigating hate crimes. The latest report from the Florida Attorney General’s office noted that only 58 of 254 law enforcement agencies reported hate crimes in 2022, despite requirements in state law — indicating that such crimes go largely unreported.

The report attributes this to varying definitions of what constitutes a hate crime depending on the agency. In Central Florida, only a handful of agencies reported hate crimes to the state in 2022 – including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orlando Police Department in Orange County, the Kissimmee Police Department in Osceola County and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Agencies in Lake County reported no hate crimes that year.

Of the 231 incidents reported in 2023, nearly half of perpetrators targeted their victim’s race. the murder of three black people in a supermarket in Jacksonville, shot by a white man with a gun decorated with swastikas. Days later, groups of neo-Nazis marched in Altamonte Springs and near Disney Springs.

“Creating this task force has been a priority for us due to recent hate crime incidents I have seen both nationally and in our own community,” Bain said. “Hate crimes have no place in our society and we want people to feel safe reporting these crimes, knowing their allegations will be taken seriously.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes and monitors groups that commit those crimes, said Florida ranked second in hate and anti-government groups in 2023. That year, the civil rights organization documented “the highest number of active anti-LGBTQ+ and white nationalist groups” ever recorded nationwide, according to a report released earlier this year.

“These record numbers are accompanied by an increase in direct actions against minority groups, including hate crimes and other tactics such as anti-Black and anti-Semitic flyers, protests and intimidation campaigns targeting LGBTQ+ people, libraries, schools and hospitals,” the report concludes.