By Marion Filler
Life during a pandemic is a study in extremes, bringing out the best in many, but exacerbating the worst in others.
Bias crimes are an example of the latter, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp explained in a webinar on Monday.
According to Knapp, the coronavirus crisis has caused a significant uptick in incidents primarily against two groups. Chinese people and businesses have been targeted, because the virus may have originated in China; and Orthodox Jews, for allegedly not following social distancing protocols.
Citing the 75th Anniversary of V-E Day, on May 8, 1945, he recalled the ultimate hate crime — the extermination of 1.1 million people over a five-year period in Auschwitz.
Noting the capacity of Yankee Stadium is 50,000, he said it would be filled 16,400 times by those who perished in Auschwitz alone. Knapp’s own mother-in-law was one of the lucky survivors.
“This is something that young people today need to know about,” the prosecutor said. “They need to know this history of bias and intimidation. They need to know what generations preceding us have gone through and what people today are still going through.”
Knapp heads a team who are doing something about it: Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha De Negri and Detective/Supervisor Patrick LaGuerre. They were joined for Monday’s presentation by David D’Amico, chief investigator of the New Jersey State Bias Crimes Officers Association.
“Bias is a learned behavior,” said D’Amico.
He used a multi-level pyramid to illustrate his point. The first level is ignorance. The second level involves acts of indirect prejudice, where feelings about disliked groups are discussed with like-minded friends. The third level is defined as an act of prejudice where members of certain groups are avoided at all cost.
The fourth stage is the point of no return, and becomes a crime through acts of discrimination, when someone is excluded from social privileges, employment, housing, and educational opportunities.
At the top of the pyramid are acts of violence such as vandalism, assault, riots, and harassment.
The escalation goes from verbal, to avoidance, to exclusion, and finally to physical attack. It must be stopped at the outset, D’Amico said. The three R’s — Recognize, Respond and Report — are the cornerstone of the strategy.
“If you see something, say something,” said D’Amico.
Even if the incident doesn’t rise to the definition of a criminal act, D’Amico emphasized that every time an incident is reported, it is now mandatory that it be documented. This feeds a statewide databank that can identify trouble spots, as well as individuals and groups who promote discord.
DeNegri pointed out that juveniles are the majority of offenders, and educating middle schoolers is the optimal starting point.
“We have been going to schools, and work closely with superintendents and teachers,” she said.
If a school has a major uptick, she and her team will go there and begin the process of educating teachers and students.
LaGuerre said being proactive has been extremely successful, because “there is zero discretion in reporting an incident.”
“When it comes to bias, the schools and the police department have to take the report and they have to notify the prosecutor’s office. This has enabled us to keep a running tab on what’s going on,” LaGuerre said.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, he said, kids will come up to the team after a presentation.
“We put them in touch with the police that day,” said DeNegri. “It is eye-opening to see how many come forward.”
When school in is session, teachers are the first link in communication. During the pandemic, with schools closed, a call to the local police department is the way to go.
“The prosecutor has given us pro-active ability,” said LaGuerre. “If you have an issue reach out to us.”
