After more than 40 years of Federal Court supervision, this agreement calls for its end by the spring of 2001. Mediation of this case has saved the taxpayers of Arkansas hundreds of thousands in court costs and attorney fees. Responding to Hate Crimes CRS, as part of the Attorney General s Hate Crime Initiative, has designed with law enforcement leaders, four new training curricula to teach police executives, investigators, and patrol officers on best approaches when responding to hate crimes. Furthermore, in 1997 CRS was involved in more than 150 hate crime incidents, representing approximately 15 percent of the agency s active caseload. In 1996 CRS responded to more than 175 hate crimes.
Hate crimes can exacerbate tensions, and trigger larger community-wide conflicts and disturbances.
Restoring Calm After Church Burnings Without CRS, we could not have done it. We needed CRS on the ground, calming the community and making sure a volatile situation did not get much worse. With CRS help, we were able to conduct a thorough investigation which led to indictments of suspected church arsonists. During 1996 and 1997, more than 500 churches in 13 Southern States were burned or desecrated. CRS has been an integral partner in the National Church Burning Task Force, working on the ground with State and local officials in more than 190 communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia to bridge law enforcement and minority communities, reduce polarization, and minimize violence.