Letter to U.S. House of Representatives on Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act

July 23, 2004

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the 150,000 members and affiliates of the American Psychological Association (APA), I am writing to request your support of a motion to instruct House conferees to include the Senate-passed Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA, S.966) provisions in the Department of Defense Authorization bill. The Senate voted 65-33 on June 15 to include these provisions. This vital legislation has attracted bipartisan support in the House (H.R.4204) with over 175 current co-sponsors.

The LLEEA would strengthen our nation’s response to hate crimes by (expanding federal jurisdiction and by) providing state and local law enforcement with federal assistance to prosecute hate crimes. Currently, hate crimes can only be prosecuted at the federal level when motivated by bias based on race, religion, national origin, or color and when the victim is engaged in a federally protected activity (e.g., voting) and in several other circumstances specified by statute. Hence, hate crimes often go unrecognized and unprosecuted. This bill would enable the federal government to address those cases that other jurisdictions are either unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute, while retaining primary responsibility for hate crime prosecution at the state and local level.

In addition, the LLEEA would expand current law to recognize crimes motivated by a person’s gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Hate crimes committed against these groups are forms of discrimination. The federal government needs to have jurisdiction over such crimes to further protect its citizens at increased risk for such victimization.

APA members are actively engaged in research and practice initiatives related to hate crimes. Psychological research has demonstrated deleterious mental health outcomes (e.g., depression and anxiety, including post-traumatic stress disorder) for victims of hate crimes. APA stands ready as a resource to you regarding empirically-based research on hate crimes and their outcomes in your deliberations concerning the LLEEA.

We urge you to vote for the motion to instruct conferees to retain the provisions of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act as part of the Department of Defense Authorization bill. For further information, please contact Jeff McIntyre in our Public Policy Office at (202) 336-6064, or visit our Web site at http://www.apa.org/ppo/issues/phatecrime.html.

Sincerely,

Henry Tomes, Ph.D.
Executive Director for Public Interest