A disjointed and sometimes inconsistent group of Connecticut statutes intended to prohibit hate crimes would be streamlined and strengthened under new legislation, announced last week by Gov. Ned Lamont, who said the change would make the policies easier to enforce.
The bill is intended to consolidate more than 20 statutes related to hate crimes and standardize the terminology used in these laws to remove obstacles that have sometimes confounded police and prosecutors as they seek to secure convictions under the policies, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin said during a Thursday press conference at the state Capitol.
The change is based on the work of the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council and will be among the various bills proposed by the governor next week, when he addresses the legislature on Wednesday and outlines his priorities and budget recommendations for the next two years.
“Hate can have a ripple effect in an incredibly dangerous way,” Lamont said. “That’s what a hate crime does — when you commit a crime against somebody because of the color of their skin, because of their religious background, because of their sexual orientation, when you make that part of the crime… that has a ripple effect in a very dangerous and negative way.”
Hate crimes in Connecticut have increased by 50% since 2021, according to Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell Higgins. In 2021, the state reported 87 hate crimes, Higgins said. That number jumped to 130 in just the first three quarters of 2024, he said.
“The anger, the anxiety and the vulnerability [caused by hate crimes] ricochets throughout our communities and it impacts us in places where we should feel safe — in our homes, on our sidewalks, and on campuses,” Higgins said.
Griffin, the state’s leading prosecutor, noted last week’s announcement followed Holocaust Remembrance Day, which serves as an annual commemoration of the date in 1945 when Allied forces liberated Auschwitz and the world witnessed the atrocities perpetrated by Nazis at the concentration camp.
Erika Brunwasser, associate regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said anti-semitic incidents have increased by 670% over the last four years in Connecticut.
“Connecticut now has the opportunity to make changes to our hate crime laws, to make sure that we can appropriately address hate when it happens in our communities,” Brunwasser said.
