Yale Public Safety hosts hate crime symposium

Yale Public Safety and the Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council (HCAC) recently hosted the “Connecticut Combats Hate Symposium” for law enforcement officials and state’s attorneys at Yale West Campus.

The day-long symposium opened with a welcome from Head of Public Safety Duane Lovello, appointed member of the HCAC by Governor Lamont, and remarks from Council chair and Appellate Judge Douglas Lavine, who said how hate crimes “rip the social fabric of the individual and the community.”

“It was important for Yale Public Safety to collaborate with the HCAC to convene law enforcement officials because hate crimes are plaguing our nation,” said Lovello. “Anything we can do to shed light on this scourge that negatively impacts the disenfranchised community is helpful.”

Facilitators for the symposium were Cynthia Deitle, director, associate general counsel, Civil Rights for Meta (owners of Facebook) and Daphne Felten-Green JD, president of DSFG Solutions LLC and retired special counsel for the US Department of Justice.

Duane Lovello, Head of Public Safety.

Deitle provided a historical account on the evolution of hate crimes in the United States and its relevance to federal laws, policing, and crime analysis.

Felten-Green presented several examples of how past injustices create intergenerational and historical trauma in communities and how those injustices impact present-day policing.

In the afternoon, panelists from across Connecticut discussed critical topics such as, how to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and hate incidents; the importance of data; responding to campus demonstrations; community unrest; and an examination of Connecticut hate crime laws and the prosecution of the hate crimes.

The day ended with emotional and compelling first-hand accounts from families of victims whose lives were tragically lost to hate crimes.