King County zeros in on how proposed hate crime hotline would work - The Seattle Times
A new King County hate-crime reporting system and hotline is one step closer to reality, with the release last week of a report detailing recommendations for how the program would work.
The Stop Hate Hotline — a proposed 24-hour online portal and staffed phone line — aims to make it easier for hate-crime victims to connect with community-based service providers without needing to contact law enforcement.
King County officials and community advocates also hope the new hotline, in the works for over a year, will improve the county’s data collection on reported crimes motivated by hate and bias and increase countywide awareness about hate crimes.
Plans for the new hotline come as reported hate crimes across King County increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking in February 2021, according to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Pressure ratcheted up last week, after a man smashed the windows of the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown International District with a sledgehammer in an alleged hate crime. That incident has heightened ongoing concerns over public safety among some of the city’s Asian American and Pacific Islander residents.
The new hotline will build on an existing reporting system, the Hate and Bias Incident Response Survey, run by the county-sponsored Coalition Against Hate and Bias, which formed in 2020 to address the rise in hate crimes.
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That survey was primarily a data collection tool, with most responses...
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