SCHRTF is independent

Thank you to Amber Dodd for her article last Friday about tracking hate crimes in our region (“As hate crimes rise nationally, so do Spokane’s community efforts to eradicate them,” Sept. 24).

The Spokane County Human Rights Task Force was referenced in the article. The task force is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization whose members pledge to protect and promote human rights in Spokane County. A year ago, the SCHRTF launched its Hate Incident Documentation Project to track hate activity in our county. Over 60 reports have been received from individuals who felt they were victims of or were witnesses to an act of hate or discrimination. The Documentation Project accepts reports of both hate crimes and hate incidents (where no bodily harm, threat of harm, or property damage occurred). The majority of the reports fall into the latter category.

We, the members of the SCHRTF, emphasize that our organization is not sponsored by any law enforcement or government entity. We respect the privacy of people submitting reports. Sharing of data from our project is done with the identities of victims, reporters and perpetrators redacted. To report a hate incident or crime, go to ReportHateBias.org.

Hershel Zellman, board member, SCHRTF

Spokane