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| Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a new hate crimes website for the public and law enforcement. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
By Danielle Haynes, UPI
The Department of Justice on Monday unveiled a new website consolidating resources for law enforcement and the public to report hate crimes a week after a number of high-profile slayings being investigated as hate crimes.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the site during a roundtable event with law enforcement in Washington, D.C.
The Department of Justice described it as a "centralized portal" that also benefits media, researchers, victims and advocacy groups. The site features training materials, technical assistance, videos and statistics.
Rosenstein also announced a $840,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice for research on hate crimes data collection and for technical assistance resources.
"Individuals should be able to live their lives free from the threat of violence and discrimination, no matter who they are, what they believe, or how they worship," Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore said.
Federal officials unveiled the website on the same day authorities in Kentucky said they were investigating the slaying of two people at a grocery store as a hate crime. The suspect allegedly told a bystander "whites don't kill whites" and attempted to enter a predominantly black church before opening fire at the grocery store.
And U.S. Attorney Scott Brady also called the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 people dead a hate crime.
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