Against the backdrop of a number of assaults on Asians in New York City over the past few days, the Asian Hate Crime Task Force of the City Police Department has called a meeting with the Chinese-speaking media to emphasize to Chinese victims that they should always call the police in the event of an assault. Not only does the task force have Mandarin and Cantonese speaking officers to help victims, but there are also interpreters available for 911 calls.
Asian Hate Crimes on the Rise
Deputy Inspector Hsia Stewart Loo, head of NYPD’s Asian Hate Crimes Action Team, said that according to police statistics, the number of hate crimes against Asians rose from three in 2019 to 28 last year. And the attacks were all linked to the Epidemic, according to testimony from victims and witnesses, as well as evidence.
Although hate crimes against Asians accounted for 10 percent of the city’s total hate crimes last year, less than the 14 percent of the total Asian population in New York City, according to the police department, the New York City government and police department took the phenomenon seriously enough to create a 25-member action team last April to specifically tackle Asian hate crimes in New York City.
“I think it’s important not to latch on to the fact that it’s a hate crime or it’s not a hate crime. A crime is a crime, and no matter what the crime is, it will not be tolerated.” Lush said. “Just because we can’t prove it’s a hate crime doesn’t mean it’s not a hate crime.”
That said, it doesn’t mean that any kind of assault is a “hate crime” if the victim is Asian. For example, in the recent bakery lineup assault in Flushing, the attacker was not convicted of a hate crime by police. There is a standard for “hate crimes,” Lu said.
“I need to see what the bad guy said to you, something like ‘I hate you,’ ‘I’m beating you up because you’re of a certain race,’ and so on.” He said, “Or the person might not say anything, but after we catch him, ask him, what’s going on? Why are you doing this? He tells us, ‘It’s because I don’t like certain people’ did this thing.”
Based on such testimony and evidence, it is only then that such an attack can be proven as a hate crime and the perpetrator may face a maximum sentence of twenty-five years in prison.
Advice for Chinese victims
Steven Luo, a Chinese-speaking officer with the Asian Hate Crimes Action Team, said the biggest problem they face in their work is that victims don’t report crimes.
“The biggest problem we have now is that victims don’t report crimes to us.” He said that while he understands people’s reluctance to deal with the police, “reporting a crime is the first step, and we can only help you if you report it.”
If a Chinese person is attacked, Officer Lo recommends recording and videotaping as much as possible to collect evidence while keeping yourself safe. In addition, they police do not care about the immigration status of the person reporting the crime and do not ask that question.
For Chinese victims facing the biggest problem – the language problem, Officer Luo said, 911 has a translation line; 11 different languages are posted on the wall of each precinct, you don’t have to speak, point to your language with your hand, and the police will go find someone who speaks that language to help translate. In the case of the elderly Chinese woman in Brooklyn who was set on fire behind her back last year, they relied on a Cantonese-speaking police officer to communicate and successfully obtained evidence of the killer’s crime.
Our reporter called 911 to confirm that they do have an interpreter, but the person reporting the crime had better speak at least one English word, i.e. Chinese, Mandarin, or Cantonese. ), or “Cantonese” (Cantonese). If you can’t speak a word of English, the police officer who answers will have to guess for himself; if you manage to let 911 know where you are and call the police, it’s a good idea.
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