In June, an FBI advisory board approved tracking crimes against Sikhs, Hindus, Arabs, Buddhists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Orthodox Christians. FBI Director Robert Mueller signed off on the board's recommendations.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/usandworld/sikhs-added-to-hate-crime-stats-b9967444z1-218102831.html
Meanwhile, congregants not warned of the danger of member pedophiles is not a 'hate crime'.
U.S. and World
Sikhs, six other groups added to hate crime stats
Justice Department makes change near anniversary of killing of 6 Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek
By Ashley Luthern of the Journal SentinelUpdated: 2:33 p.m.
Sikh Temple Shooting
Special Section: Complete coverage of the Oak Creek Sikh Temple shootings and aftermathThe Justice Department announced Friday it will now record statistics on hate crimes committed against Sikhs and six other groups, as Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of six Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek.
The decision was praised by Sikh-Americans and lawmakers."This is a process toward understanding the magnitude of challenges that this community has been facing," said Jasjit Singh, executive director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.The organization has tried to capture data about Sikh-American hate crimes for years, but "it's not in the best place to do it, frankly speaking,"
Singh said.Singh addressed federal officials in 2010 about the need to record that data, but said that effort really didn't gather momentum until last year."If nothing else the horrific tragedy and memory of these victims has helped shine a light on this community in a way that there hasn't been before," he said.The victims in Oak Creek must never be reduced to mere crime statistics, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a blog post about the decision."But, in order to honor their untimely losses by ensuring that justice can be done, they do need to be counted," he wrote.
In June, an FBI advisory board approved tracking crimes against Sikhs, Hindus, Arabs, Buddhists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Orthodox Christians. FBI Director Robert Mueller signed off on the board's recommendations.Some members of Congress had urged the FBI and Department of Justice to begin tracking hate crimes against Sikh-Americans in April 2012 - months before the temple shooting in Oak Creek.
After the attack, Wisconsin members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution recognizing the contributions of Sikh-Americans and called for action on hate crimes. That action was followed by more than 100 members of Congress writing to the FBI's advisory policy board to express strong support for the hate-crime tracking changes.In a joint statement, Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Michael Honda (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said they were "thrilled" by Friday's decision."
This groundbreaking decision to collect valuable hate crime data will go a long way towards protecting communities living in fear of being victims of a hate crime," according to a prepared statement.The Justice Department's Office on Victims of Crime also will offer an emergency assistance grant of more than $512,000 to help reimburse, and continue to pay for, mental health and trauma services for those affected by the Oak Creek shooting.
The grant will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.