On Monday, Nov. 20th, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced that the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) will be creating a new state police unit to target and combat hate crimes across the state.
The Hate Crimes Awareness and Response Team (HART) will consist of state troopers who will work with several other state agencies to address hate crimes—typically defined by crimes committed due to victims being of a specific race, ethnicity, religion and other bias. The HART team will explore hate crime patterns statewide and nationally. Through a collaboration with the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee, training will be conducted to equip law enforcement with the best responses and practices in the event of a hate crime.
“With hate crimes on the rise across the country and here in Massachusetts, it is essential that we bring people together to advance proactive solutions and prevent hate crimes”, Healey said.
As a result of the Israeli-Hamas war, there has been an increase in reported discrimination towards Jewish-Americans, Palestinian and Islam. On November 25th, three students of Palestinian-descent were shot in Vermont, in an attack which investigators suspect was racially motivated. The United States Department of Education has additionally launched an investigation at multiple U.S. universities. On Nov. 28th, an investigation was launched against Harvard University for failing to respond to alleged harassment towards Jewish and Israeli students. In November, Columbia University students organized Anti-Jewish demonstrations. Columbia, however, said the demonstrations were “unauthorized events’ that occurred on campus.
Racial hate in Massachusetts increased when undocumented immigrants living in Massachusetts were able to get a Massachusetts driver’s license, under the Work and Family Mobility Act, which started in July of 2023.
Under the same HART announcement, Healey also announced that ten Massashusetts school districts would receive Hate Crime Prevention grants: Burlington, Medway, Gateway, Granby, Lenox, Gloucestor, Framingham, North Reading, Bedford and Newton will be receiving nearly or $50,000 each. These grants will expand or initiate programs to educate staff and students to reduce bias incidents at these local school districts.
According to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Massachusetts had recorded 440 hate crimes in 2022, an increase from 406 reported hate crimes in 2021.
