COURT HOUSE – If Cape May County is to “stop the hate,” it is important to teach local children that cycles of bigotry can be broken. That was the message from a “Stop the Hate” event hosted by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center Feb. 8.
Members from the office preached the importance of reporting bias incidents, promoting LGBTQ+ acceptance, and speaking out against bigotry wherever it exists.
Capt. Joe Landis, community outreach coordinator and LGBTQ+ liaison at the County Prosecutor’s Office, said that even deeply rooted bigotry can be unlearned.
“Cycles can be broken,” he said. “I was told as a kid not to date outside my race. We broke that cycle.”
Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said he worries about bias incidents because his adult son is transgender.
“It’s really important to me… I worry about that every day,” he said.
New Jersey is cracking down hard on bias incidents, and staff from the County Prosecutor’s Office made it clear that Cape May County is no exception.
The state has tougher-than-average laws in place to fight bias incidents and has a “Bias Crime Unit” at the state level. The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice mandates that all bias incidents be reported to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office by local law enforcement.
However, the line between a “bias incident” and a “bias crime” are not always clear. Landis helped the audience understand the difference.
His first example was an image, projected on a large screen, of a swastika painted on a tree that sat on the side of a public road. That swastika represents a “bias incident” because nobody was directly targeted.
If that same swastika was sprayed on the side of a Jewish synagogue, it would escalate to a “bias crime” because the symbolism had a specific target.
Landis asked the audience to stomach the hateful imagery he presented.
“This stuff is real,” he said.
He emphasized several times that bias incidents, not just crimes, should be reported. If someone sees a bias incident, Landis said they should call the nonemergency number of their local police office. They will take it seriously, he stressed.
“There are so many bias incidents in our county that don’t get reported because people are worried about bothering the police. It’s never a bother,” he said. “That’s our job.”
These reports help law enforcement understand which people groups are being targeted and if those incidents are increasing in number.
Any business in the county can join the County Prosecutor’s Office in their fight to “stop the hate” by joining the “Safe Place” program. Local businesses who join the program will train their employees to do two things, explained on a pamphlet passed out to the those attending the event:
- “If a victim of a crime, especially a hate crime, enters your premises, call 911 immediately.”
- “Allow the victim to remain on your premise until police arrive.”
Members of the program are given a 4-by-7-inch “SAFE PLACE” decal to stick on the entrance to their business. Although this may seem like a small gesture, Landis said that the program helps educate employees across the county on the importance of combating bias. It also signals to customers of that business that bias is taken seriously there.
Businesses can join by going to https://www.cmcpros.net/community-page/67.
Landis said that the County Prosecutor’s Office will give presentations on the importance of acceptance and combating bias incidents upon request. He hopes to spread this message of inclusion across the county, and to stop bias crime before it happens.
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 156.
