The grant support assisted the ADL in its work with four high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools in California, Nebraska, and New York. The USCR consistently holds hearings and briefings on race relations and hate violence. Most recently, the commission held community forums on suspicious church fires in six southern states. The US Department of the Treasury Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted in the investigation of predominantly Black church fires as part of the National Church Arson Task Force. HUD also sought to expand civil penalties for hate crimes under Fair Housing Act violations.
Most States currently have some kind of anti-hate crime statute in operation.
Outlawing intimidation of individuals. Allowing for civil actions against offenders. Holding parents liable for the criminal actions of their children. Requiring States to compile statistics on hate crimes. These penalty enhancements are designed to deter hate crimes by demonstrating that offenders risk receiving especially harsh legal responses for their actions.