New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced the launch of a new statewide campaign, No Hate in the Garden State, aimed at raising public awareness about bias incidents and crimes that target individuals based on race, gender, religion, or other protected statuses. The campaign, developed in collaboration with the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), seeks to address the increasing trend of hate crimes across the state.
The No Hate in the Garden State initiative will use television, print, radio, digital, and social media to inform the public about the resources available to victims of bias incidents and to encourage reporting of such crimes. The campaign also includes training programs for law enforcement, educators, students, and community members in areas most affected by bias-related crimes. These efforts aim to enhance the identification, reporting, and prosecution of bias incidents.
The rise in bias crimes has been particularly stark in recent years. According to New Jersey’s Bias Incident Report for 2021-2022, there were 2,211 reported bias incidents in 2022, a 53% increase from 2020. Attorney General Platkin has made combating this trend a priority, urging agencies within the Department of Law and Public Safety to develop strategies to address bias crimes.
To support the campaign, DCJ has secured over $1 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Justice, including $300,000 from the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program and $750,000 from the Collaborative Approaches Toward Preventing and Addressing Hate Crime-Demonstration Projects Program.
As part of its continued efforts, the Attorney General’s Office recently launched a Bias Data Dashboard, a publicly accessible tool that tracks bias incidents across the state. The dashboard provides detailed information about the locations, motivations, and demographics of bias incidents, allowing for better targeting of campaign efforts and resources.
The public is encouraged to report bias incidents to local authorities or via the NJBIAS online portal.