Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that in response to a rise in hate crimes and incidents of harassment, the State of New York will increase staffing to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Governor Hochul has directed an additional $2.5 million to the New York State Police to deploy ten additional investigators in New York City, Albany, Buffalo and Rochester, ensuring the State Police has a presence in all JTTF investigative groups and areas. This is Governor Hochul's latest effort to fight hate in all its forms after the Hamas terror attacks, which have been followed by a reported increase in Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.
“I immediately deployed the New York State Police on October 7 to protect at-risk communities and we have continued our laser focus on public safety since then,” Governor Hochul said. “Surging resources to the Joint Terrorism Task Force is a critical step to ensure New Yorkers are protected from domestic and international threats.”
“We are committed to driving out hatred and discrimination from our state and ensuring that all New Yorkers are protected and supported,” said Lieutenant Governor Delgado. “We are proud to be one of the most diverse places in the world and we will ensure violence and extremism have no place here.”
This new investment will allow the New York State Police to act as a force-multiplier for the JTTF, ensuring that all cases with New York State ties are thoroughly examined and investigated. It will also strengthen ties already existing between the JTTF and the New York State Intelligence Center Counter-Terrorism Center, allowing for greater involvement in investigations into Racially Motivated Violent Extremists, Domestic Violent Extremist groups, Anti-Government/Anti-Authority Violent Extremists, as well as into conspiracy theories & disinformation/misinformation.
The total number of bias incidents investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force increased by 124 percent in October, led by a 214 percent spike in anti-Jewish incidents. Anti-Muslim incidents increased in October from 0 to 8 incidents. Overall, hate crime investigations year to date continued their downward trend with a decrease of 9 percent. There have been a number of high-profile attacks on Muslim and Palestinian New Yorkers, with hate crimes against Asian New Yorkers remaining elevated over the past few years.
New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “Coordination across levels of government and agencies is essential to protect New Yorkers. This investment will strengthen the partnership between New York State and the FBI and increase everyone’s capacity to curtail and stop hate fueled violence.”
This announcement builds on Governor Hochul’s efforts to increase safety protocols against hate and bias crimes in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Last week, Governor Hochul announced the launch of a new hotline and online form for New Yorkers to be able to quickly report hate and bias incidents. Immediately following the Hamas terror attacks, Governor Hochul fully activated the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Office of Counterterrorism, expanded State Police monitoring of social media, and directed MTA and Port Authority leaders to patrol high-risk transit hubs. In July, Governor Hochul announced more than $51 million in grant funding to improve safety and security of organizations at risk of hate crimes.