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Shepard and Byrd Hate Crimes Program
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The goals of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program are to (1) Support state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies in their efforts to increase reporting of hate crimes and identification of hate crimes and to increase agency capacity to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and (2) Establish a more advanced level of preparedness at state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution agencies for addressing hate crimes. The objectives of Shepard and Byrd Hate Crimes Program are to: • Support comprehensive efforts to prevent and respond to hate crimes that incorporate relevant community stakeholders; • Increase the number of agencies with strategic plans for addressing hate crimes; • Increase the capacity of agencies to identify, report, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes; • Expand the tools available to justice agencies to improve case outcomes for victims and communities impacted by hate crimes; and, • Increase and enhance partnerships between justice agencies, impacted communities, and culturally responsive service organizations. Performance Measure 1: Percentage of potential hate crime arrests that resulted in an indictment (formal charge) or sentence enhancement; Performance Measure 2: Percentage of cases reviewed with Shepard/Byrd Hate Crimes grant funds that were presented to a prosecuting attorney for charging decision; and, Performance Measure 3: Number of victims agreeing to participate in the investigation.
This chart shows obligations for the program by fiscal year. All data for this chart was provided by the
administering agency and sourced from SAM.gov, USASpending.gov, and Treasury.gov.
For more information on each of these data sources, please see the
About the data page.
Please visit https://bja.ojp.gov/news/blog/people-who-inspired-bja-programs-james-byrd-jr
Illinois Attorney General’s Office:
The Illinois Office of the Attorney General is providing specialized training to law enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys in Illinois, with a goal of enhancing the reporting, identification, and prosecution of hate crimes across the state. In May 2024, they delivered their first “homegrown” 8-hour training focusing on the history of hate crimes and recognizing and reporting hate crimes. Plans are underway to deliver the training throughout the state.
Broward County State Attorney’s Office, Ft. Lauderdale, FL:
Hate crimes award funding enabled the Broward County State Attorney’s Office to create a Broward County Hate Crimes Task Force with law enforcement and community partners to increase public awareness of hate crimes and provide educational materials and public awareness campaigns to reach at-risk individuals and groups. Work conducted by the task force promotes trust between the community, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system through training and community outreach activities. The task force efforts led to enhanced collaboration and partnerships with community members and criminal justice agencies in neighboring counties, resulting in two partners applying for and receiving BJA grant funds to support their hate crime prevention and response efforts.
Maryland Attorney General’s Office:
Funding from award enabled the site to develop and roll out an online portal, nohomeforhate.md.gov, to provide victims of hate in Maryland an additional avenue to report information about hate crimes and bias incidents, after calling 911. With the ePortal up and running, reports of hate/bias incidents have increased significantly in 2024. The ePortal includes calls, text/app, and email for reporting.
Single Audit Applies (2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F):
For additional information on single audit requirements for this program, review the current Compliance Supplement.
OMB is working with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and agency offices of inspectors general to include links to relevant oversight reports. This section will be updated once this information is made available.
