Hate Crimes Program

The Fulton County Government submits the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Program grant application to the Bureau of Justice Assistance to educate practitioners and the public, enhance victim reporting tools, and investigate and prosecute hate crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. We respectfully request $300,000 in grant funding across three years to hire a Senior Prosecutor specialized in the prosecution of Hate Crimes of LGBTQ victims, to serve as a resource to other ADAs as they identify hate crime and work internally and externally to educate the community. District Attorney Willis is so committed to the success of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Program, she will provide more than $10,000 from her limited budget to cover salary and benefit costs of a Senior ADA which are over the $100,000 per year of grant funding. We would partner with universities in Fulton County to include: Atlanta Technical College, Atlanta University Center - Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College, Ga. State University, Ga. Tech, and MARTA, the transit system, to train and educate about hate crimes. Community partners like Congregation Bet Haverim, a synagogue here in Atlanta founded by LGBTQ people; SOJOURN, an organization that supports LGBTQ people and their families; and Compassionate Atlanta, will provide assistance to expand the conversations around hate crime. We will increase collaborations and outreach by 45% to educate persons and groups at risk for hate crimes; increase the use of Hate crime indicators in Odyssey by 50%; increase the identification and charging of hate crimes by 40%; the number of Hate Crimes reported will increase by 50%; and increase collaborations by 60%.  Deliverables will include reports, records of partnerships and surveys.  Fulton County is 534 square miles, with 15 municipalities, and its largest city, Atlanta, is capital of the state of Georgia.  Fulton County constitutes the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Fifth Judicial Administrative District, which is so populous that it contains only Fulton County. The Fulton County District Attorney (FCDA) prosecutes felonies which are the worst of crimes and include murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery and hate crimes.