The Importance of Reporting Hate Crimes
For the police to respond effectively to any crime, they must be notified immediately via 911 so that any injuries can be treated, witnesses can be interviewed, and evidence can be collected and preserved. Notifying police quickly will increase the chance that suspect(s) will be arrested.
Unfortunately, victims of bias-motivated crimes are often fearful to report for a variety of reasons. This can lead to a significant under-reporting and inaccurate statistics. It also allows the suspects who committed these crimes to continue their behavior with other victims. The Austin Police Department wants victims of hate crimes to feel comfortable reporting these incidents to the police.
Ways to Report
- If the incident is happening now, or just happened, call 911 immediately.
- If the incident has already occurred, the immediate danger is over and there are no injuries, call Austin 911, 311 or 512-974-2000 (if you have a different area code than 512).
- Report Hate Crimes Online