Oregon is Leading the Fight Against Hate

Hate crimes and bias incidents are on the rise, both in Oregon and nationally. It is up to all Oregonians to make sure that everyone is safe in their community. In 2019, the Oregon legislature passed SB 577 », which updated Oregon’s bias crime laws (formerly called intimidation), defined the new legal term bias incidents, created a victim-centered response hotline for reporting bias, requires law enforcement to refer all victims of bias incidents to support services, and streamlines data collection about bias occurring in Oregon.

What’s the Difference between a Hate or Bias Crime and a Bias Incident?

Why Should I Report?

While bias incidents and crimes sometimes target specific individuals, they often violate an entire group or community’s sense of safety and belonging. Graffiti on the wall, fliers, anonymous emails, and language meant to harass individuals convey intolerance that impacts all of us. We want Oregon to be welcoming and inclusive.

Report and Support

The “Report and Support System” is designed to help us track hate crimes and bias incidents, who was targeted, and where the incident took place. We want to:

• Support survivors who have witnessed or been the target of hate crimes and bias incidents.
• Refer survivors to services that can help.
• Inform Oregon’s legislature, governor, law enforcement, and community about the extent of the problem.

Information and Referral

The Oregon Department of Justice Bias Response Hotline is a reporting and referral service designed to support bias victims. We are not able to investigate any reports submitted via the hotline or web portal. Reports submitted here may not receive an immediate response and will not result in an investigation.

For emergency assistance, dial 911.

If you believe a crime has occurred and want it investigated, contact your local law enforcement agency.

Represented callers

We are not able to give any legal advice to anyone reporting a bias incident.

If the hotline operator is an attorney, no attorney-client privilege is created through a report or information sharing.

If you have an attorney representing you regarding the bias incident you are reporting, please consult with your attorney for legal advice. The hotline operators are prohibited from interfering with attorney-client relationships pursuant to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct » and ORS 40.225 », and will be required to terminate calls from represented callers.

Mandatory reporting

Information shared with hotline operators or via the web portal that includes information about child abuse, elder abuse, abuse of a vulnerable adult, or danger to a child (under 18), elder (over 65), or vulnerable adult (someone with a mental illness, a developmental disability, or physical disability), is subject to Oregon’s mandatory reporting laws. Information including your name, phone number, email address, location, nature of the danger/abuse, and any other identifying information will be reported to the Statewide Abuse Reporting Hotline, Oregon Department of Human Services, and/or Oregon Adult Protective Services pursuant to ORS 419B.010 », ORS 124.060 », ORS 430.735 », and ORS 441.630 ».

How your data is stored and protected

Information submitted via the hotline or web portal regarding the character, location, and impacted protected class of any bias crime or bias incident will be shared with the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) pursuant to Oregon Laws 2019, chapter 553, section 8 ». The CJC will share results of their data analysis from this information to the Governor, the Legislative Assembly, the Attorney General, the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Department of State Police, and the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Personal identifying information will be redacted from any reports pursuant to Oregon Laws 2019, chapter 553, section 8 ».

Data may be subject to public record requests.

By submitting information via the hotline or the web portal, you consent to the collection and processing of the relevant data as described above.