{"id":247442,"date":"2026-06-11T07:10:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=247442"},"modified":"2026-06-10T22:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T02:47:36","slug":"uconn-institute-helps-launch-statewide-hate-crime-reporting-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/06\/uconn-institute-helps-launch-statewide-hate-crime-reporting-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Institute Helps Launch Statewide Hate Crime Reporting Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new public awareness campaign is helping Connecticut residents better understand what constitutes a hate crime, where to report incidents, and why reporting matters. Led in part by\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>UConn\u00a0Institute for Municipal and Regional\u00a0Policy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(IMRP), the campaign also\u00a0aims\u00a0to strengthen the state\u2019s ability to track incidents and respond more effectively.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gov.
Gov. Ned Lamont signs Public Act 26-77, legislation recommended by the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council that strengthens and modernizes the state\u2019s hate crimes laws, during an event June 8 at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford. (Valerie Gordon\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The campaign was unveiled June 8 by the\u00a0<\/span>Connecticut\u00a0 Hate Crimes Advisory Council<\/span><\/a>\u00a0alongside Gov. Ned Lamont\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>signing of Public Act 26-77<\/span><\/a>, legislation recommended by the council that strengthens and modernizes the state\u2019s hate crimes laws.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The campaign, \u201cHate Is More Than a Word \u2026 It May Be a Crime,\u201d includes a\u00a0<\/span>public service announcement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0produced\u00a0for the council\u00a0by\u00a0IMRP, part of the\u00a0<\/span>School of Public Policy<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0in partnership with Hartford-based\u00a0<\/span>Greenlight Productions<\/span><\/a>\/<\/span>GO Agency<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0It also\u00a0directs residents to\u00a0<\/span>Connecticut\u2019s online hate crimes portal<\/span><\/a>, where they can learn more about hate crimes, access educational resources, and report a bias or hate incident.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHate crimes are often underreported, and many people are unsure where to turn or whether what they experienced should be reported,\u201d says\u00a0<\/span>Ken Barone<\/span><\/a>, associate director of\u00a0IMRP and\u00a0an advisor\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council.\u00a0\u201cPublic awareness is an essential part of prevention and accountability.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council was\u00a0established\u00a0to strengthen the state\u2019s response to hate crimes and bias incidents through policy recommendations, education, community engagement, and improved data collection practices.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The council includes representatives from state government, law enforcement, advocacy organizations, academic institutions, and community stakeholders. UConn faculty members from the\u00a0<\/span>College of Liberal Arts and Sciences<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>School of Law<\/span><\/a>\u00a0have served on the council.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new law also adds IMRP as an official member of the council, formalizing the Institute\u2019s relationship with the group and further strengthening UConn\u2019s connection to the state\u2019s response to hate crimes and bias incidents.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ken
Ken Barone, associate director of UConn\u2019s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, speaks at the June 8 event. (Valerie Gordon\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The campaign is one example of\u00a0the Institute’s existing work with the\u00a0council.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to increasing public awareness, the online reporting portal serves as\u00a0an important tool\u00a0for data collection and analysis.\u00a0The\u00a0Institute\u00a0<\/span>will have continued involvement in the collection and analysis of all reported\u00a0information<\/span>,\u00a0and\u00a0will\u00a0make recommendations that support targeted education and outreach efforts aimed at preventing bias and discrimination before they escalate into criminal acts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will analyze the data on an annual basis to help state and local officials understand what is happening, where it is happening, and how to develop an appropriate government response,\u201d\u00a0he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, the campaign and the research that grows out of it will help the state and its residents better understand the legal and social impact of hate crimes and bias incidents while making reporting information more accessible across Connecticut, according to Barone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery resident has a role to play in recognizing hate crimes, understanding their impact, and helping ensure incidents are reported,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The campaign, led in part by UConn\u2019s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, is helping Connecticut residents understand hate crimes, learn where to report incidents, and support prevention, accountability, and data collection. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":247444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,1715,2460,2235,92],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-247442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-community-impact","category-faculty","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-hartford"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 11:57:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247442"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247450,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247442\/revisions\/247450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/247444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247442"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=247442"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=247442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}