Spokane County to pilot hate crime hotline

Spokane County will join King and Clark counties in testing a statewide hate crimes hotline, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday.

The pilot hotline will be operational within a year, and the statewide hotline will launch by January 2027.

The Legislature created the hotline earlier this year within the Attorney General’s Office when it adopted Senate Bill 5427 with bipartisan support.

“This pilot will set the foundation for a first-of-its-kind centralized, statewide resource for Washingtonians to report hate crimes and bias incidents,” Ferguson said in a statement.

Victims of hate crimes can also use the hotline to find resources and support.

The program will collect and publish data on hate incidents that are not currently available, a news release from the attorney general’s office said. The hotline will share information with law enforcement when tips involve potential crimes and the person reporting the crime gives consent.

“I believe this partnership will ensure victims of hate crimes and hate incidents receive the support they need from the state and their local law enforcement agencies,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said in a statement.

Ferguson will convene an advisory committee that will help design the hotline’s operations and provide advice on outreach, delivery of services and funding, as well as building a network of organizations where callers can be referred for further support.

“Spokane has seen a string of hateful acts in recent weeks which underscores the urgent need for better reporting and support mechanisms for those impacted,” Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown tweeted. “The Hate Crimes Hotline will be a crucial resource and Spokane is looking forward to taking an active role in piloting this new program.”

The downtown pride flag crosswalk has been a repeated target of vandalism lately. It was set on fire last month. Then after it was repainted, three suspects were arrested on suspicion of malicious mischief after police said they skidded Lime scooters over the mural and hurled homophobic slurs at witnesses.

Washington law defines a hate crime as assault, property damage or threats to cause injury or property damage that is committed because of the perception of a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or disability.

Bias incidents are acts of prejudice that are not criminal in nature and do not involve violence, threats or property damage. Just because these incidents cannot be criminally charged does not mean they are not important to report, the attorney general’s news release said.

The hotline will be staffed during business hours.