In 2019, New York State Police say there has been an increase in reported hate crimes.
In Greece, investigators are still looking for the person that spray-painted on North Greece Road Church of Christ back in April. In Geneva, a 12-year-old girl was arrested for drawing swastikas on several buildings including a church in July. Most recently in Brighton, 18-year-old Evan Dombroski was charged with a hate crime after he painted the “n-word” and a swastika on a car parked on Spier Avenue in August.
Investigator Brent Bernard is a part of the NYSP Hate Crimes Unit. He says the team started in 2016 with more than 100 investigators assisting local departments to solve crimes that targeting a specific group of people in a negative way.
“It’s a trend, it’s something we need to address and it’s something we need to keep at bay,” Bernard said. “It’s becoming an issue and it’s hurtful to people.”