Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) and State Senator Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Island) announced the passage of legislation (A3606/S3909) that they sponsored that would create hate crimes response and recognition training for state and local law enforcement officers.

“An attack on one community is an attack on all of us so we are standing together to delineate that these hate crimes have no place in New York and no community should be subjected to hateful rhetoric and acts of violence,” Assemblywoman Nily Rozic said. “This legislation will ensure that law enforcement officers on the ground have the proper tools to recognize and respond to hate-based incidents in our efforts to root out hate and discrimination in New York.”

“We must do all we can to confront the scourge of anti-Semitism that has reared its ugly head across our state and nation,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky. “To ensure our police officers are adept at recognizing and investigating hate crimes, I introduced legislation to mandate training in that regard. I will continue to do all I can to fight anti-Semitism head on – our communities and society-at-large deserve no less.”

Evan R. Bernstein, Regional Director, ADL New York / New Jersey said: “We applaud Assemblymember Rozic and Senator Kaminsky for their leadership in securing passage of Assembly Bill A3606A and Senate Bill S3909A — a bill that prioritizes the importance of hate crime training for law enforcement. At a time when marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable to hate-motivated violence, and yet hate crimes remain vastly underreported, ensuring that law enforcement is equipped with the tools needed to identify and understand the unique impact of such crimes is critical to combatting bias and hate in our communities. We look forward to continuing to work together in our collective fight against hate in New York.”

Muslim Bar Association of New York said: “The Muslim Bar Association of New York thanks Assemblymember Rozic and Senator Kaminsky for shepherding the passage of A3606a/S3909a at this critical time. Even as the scourge of hate crimes increases across New York and much of the nation, many experts agree that hate crimes are under-reported. One important factor in under-reporting is the investigating officer does not identify a bias motivation or does not include bias in an incident report. This timely and important legislation will help ensure officers across our state are trained to recognize and respond to hate crimes.”

Michael Schmidt, Director of AJC NY said: “As we have seen an alarming increase in hate crimes across New York State, particularly in Jewish communities, we are pleased that our police will now be trained to identify and report anti-Semitic and other hate crimes. We are grateful to Assemblymember Rozic and Senator Kaminsky for their leadership and for introducing this bill and proud to have played a role in ensuring the passage of this important legislation.”

Yawar Shah & Bahman Farahdel, co-chairs of the New York Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council said: “The Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, convened by AJC NY, brings together Muslim and Jewish leaders to advocate on domestic issues of concern to our communities. Our support for Assemblymember Rozic and Senator Kaminsky’s bill stems from our common concern about growing hate crimes and we are grateful to the Assemblymember and Senator for shepherding this bill through passage which will be an additional tool to protect our communities and all New Yorkers.”

Carlyn Cowen, Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the Chinese-American Planning Council said: “With the increase in racism and xenophobia, and particularly the rise in hate crimes in New York the last couple of years, it is incredibly important that New York State take action to respond. This bill is a huge step towards protecting New Yorkers and we are grateful to Assemblymember Rozic and Senator Kaminsky for their leadership.”

“We commend Assemblywoman Rozic, Senator Kaminsky, and the New York State Legislature for taking action to combat hate crimes across our state,” said Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu, co-executive directors of Asian Americans for Equality. “It is more important than ever that all of our diverse communities stand together to fight the alarming rise in bias-motivated crimes. This legislation will help equip our law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to protect New Yorkers from despicable acts that have no place in our country.”

“New York has taken a critical to ensure law enforcement has the necessary training to effectively respond to hate crimes plaguing our vibrant and diverse communities throughout the state,” said Sim J. Singh, Senior Advocacy & Policy Manager of the Sikh Coalition. “With this legislation, the Sikh Coalition will continue to provide expertise to law enforcement to develop meaningful policies and procedures to enhance the enforcement of current hate crime laws.”

The bill’s passage follows months of advocacy and a roundtable discussion with community leaders and activists on the increase of hate crimes across New York. The coalition discussed how their communities can work together on legislative solutions and the grassroots response necessary following a hate-based incident. The legislation is supported by the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, the Muslim Bar Association of New York, the Sikh Coalition, Asian Americans for Equality and the Chinese-American Planning Council.

Rozic and Kaminsky’s legislation would implement hate crimes recognition and response training for all law enforcement agencies in the state to ensure first responders are equipped to properly identify and handle hate-based incidents.