Albany, NY – Today, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) is urging the passage of bill A.10023, which she co-sponsors. This bill would establish a hate crime prevention training program for state and local law enforcement agencies. The Anti-Defamation League recently released their annual audit on anti-Semitic incidents and New York saw a 90% increase from 2016. The training mandated in this bill will help law enforcement officers better recognize and respond to hate crimes.

“This training is essential to ensure that law enforcement officers are prepared to handle, and hopefully prevent, hate crimes,” said Pheffer Amato. “In a state as diverse as ours, we must lead the fight in hate-crime prevention.”

The bill is currently in the Assembly Committee on Governmental Operations.