311 county hotline starts taking reports of antisemitic crimes in Suffolk
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announces the 311 county hotline for reporting antisemitic crimes at a news conference in Hauppauge on Tuesday. Credit: James Carbone
Whether reporting an antisemitic flyer or cruel rhetoric in schools, people in Suffolk can now dial 311 to report hostility toward Jewish people, county officials said Tuesday.
Operators at the H. Lee Dennison Building started Tuesday taking such calls to 311, which will also continue to connect residents with government services. It is not a replacement for 911, officials said, but provides a way to better gauge hate in the area and encourage people to report it, officials said.
“The whole point of 311 is to make the connection between government and citizens as seamless as possible,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
“We don't want people to have to figure out, ‘Oh, is this reportable? Is this not? Should this rise to the level or not?’ ” he later said.
The county-sponsored hotline for reporting hate crimes is 631-852-HATE.
A hate crime is one motivated by bias and targets a victim because of a perception of a race, religion, age, sexual orientation or other factors, according to the state. It can cover crimes against a person or property and include a multitude of offenses, such as assault, harassment, menacing and others.
At the 311 call center, agents trained to handle the calls will send the information to police officials who will investigate and decide how to proceed. People can choose anonymously to report to the line, which will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday to Friday. It will close at 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Bellone added that the first steps will be the least intrusive because some incidents are a product of ignorance. “Sometimes it's malicious, sometimes it's with intent, and sometimes it's from a lack of understanding,” he said.
According to preliminary state figures, there were roughly 355 antisemitic, 15 anti-Catholic and 26 anti-Islamic hate crimes in the state last year. Across Long Island, hate crimes jumped nearly 40% in the past year, the data shows. That spike, which was largely fueled in Nassau by antisemitic incidents, far exceeds the 20% increase in hate crimes reported statewide last year.
But officials and advocates have long said hate crimes or incidents sometimes don't get reported for reasons that include language barriers, fear of deportation or the belief that the acts against them will not be taken seriously.
According to a 2022 survey from the American Jewish Committee, roughly 85% of American Jewish respondents who said they faced an antisemitic remark in person did not report it.
“There is an alarming rate of underreporting of antisemitic incidents and the new reporting mechanism in Suffolk County will go a long way in easing this process,” said Eric Post, Long Island regional director of the American Jewish Committee.
Allan Richter, chairman of the Suffolk County Jewish Advisory Board, said antisemitism is traumatic, whether it’s somebody being pushed down or swastika graffiti. He said a goal of the 311 line is to help people understand the impact of hate, possibly intervening before they cause pain to themselves and others.
“If we can cut into that,” he said, “that would be a beautiful thing.”
Whether reporting an antisemitic flyer or cruel rhetoric in schools, people in Suffolk can now dial 311 to report hostility toward Jewish people, county officials said Tuesday.
Operators at the H. Lee Dennison Building started Tuesday taking such calls to 311, which will also continue to connect residents with government services. It is not a replacement for 911, officials said, but provides a way to better gauge hate in the area and encourage people to report it, officials said.
“The whole point of 311 is to make the connection between government and citizens as seamless as possible,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
“We don't want people to have to figure out, ‘Oh, is this reportable? Is this not? Should this rise to the level or not?’ ” he later said.
The county-sponsored hotline for reporting hate crimes is 631-852-HATE.
A hate crime is one motivated by bias and targets a victim because of a perception of a race, religion, age, sexual orientation or other factors, according to the state. It can cover crimes against a person or property and include a multitude of offenses, such as assault, harassment, menacing and others.
At the 311 call center, agents trained to handle the calls will send the information to police officials who will investigate and decide how to proceed. People can choose anonymously to report to the line, which will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday to Friday. It will close at 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Bellone added that the first steps will be the least intrusive because some incidents are a product of ignorance. “Sometimes it's malicious, sometimes it's with intent, and sometimes it's from a lack of understanding,” he said.
According to preliminary state figures, there were roughly 355 antisemitic, 15 anti-Catholic and 26 anti-Islamic hate crimes in the state last year. Across Long Island, hate crimes jumped nearly 40% in the past year, the data shows. That spike, which was largely fueled in Nassau by antisemitic incidents, far exceeds the 20% increase in hate crimes reported statewide last year.
But officials and advocates have long said hate crimes or incidents sometimes don't get reported for reasons that include language barriers, fear of deportation or the belief that the acts against them will not be taken seriously.
According to a 2022 survey from the American Jewish Committee, roughly 85% of American Jewish respondents who said they faced an antisemitic remark in person did not report it.
“There is an alarming rate of underreporting of antisemitic incidents and the new reporting mechanism in Suffolk County will go a long way in easing this process,” said Eric Post, Long Island regional director of the American Jewish Committee.
Allan Richter, chairman of the Suffolk County Jewish Advisory Board, said antisemitism is traumatic, whether it’s somebody being pushed down or swastika graffiti. He said a goal of the 311 line is to help people understand the impact of hate, possibly intervening before they cause pain to themselves and others.
“If we can cut into that,” he said, “that would be a beautiful thing.”
Education: Howard University
Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.
Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation; New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting; Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.
