Support efforts by the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office in conducting outreach, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

This grant proposal covers the County of Macomb in the State of Michigan. Macomb County has the third largest population in the State of Michigan. The county is very diverse, from very urban communities in the south to very rural communities in the north. Initial focus will benefit communities most impacted by hate crimes based on FBI statistics, which show the following: 84% of hate crimes are based on race and victims are 62% African American, 20% white, and 6% Arab; 9% of hate crimes are based on religion and 58% of religious hate crime victims are Islamic; and 6% of hate crimes are against people identifying as LGBTQ.

The Grant would be used to partially fund a full-time trial attorney with additional funding and support from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s general budget. The funding would address the lack of community outreach and education on hate crimes, including what they are and how to report them;
reluctance on the part of many victims to come forward; lack of police training on how to recognize, investigate, and charge hate crimes; and lack of trained prosecutorial resources to charge and prosecute hate crimes

Primary activities would include training of police in 20 county agencies, cities, and townships, as well as parks and college policing agencies in the county; community outreach with civil rights organizations and other organizations representing populations that are found to be victims of hate crimes; and preparing charges and trying hate crime cases.

Expected outcomes include fewer hate crimes go unreported, an increase in the number of reported hate crimes being charged and going to trial, and long-term reduction in the incidence of hate crimes, including those unreported.