In response to a rise in hate crimes and incidents of harassment, the State of New York will increase staffing to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Governor Kathy Hochul has directed an additional $2.5 million to the New York State Police to deploy ten additional investigators in New York City, Albany, Buffalo and Rochester, ensuring the State Police has a presence in all JTTF investigative groups and areas. This is Governor Hochul’s latest effort to fight hate in all its forms after the Hamas terror attacks, which have been followed by a reported increase in Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.
This new investment will allow the New York State Police to act as a force-multiplier for the JTTF, ensuring that all cases with New York State ties are thoroughly examined and investigated. It will also strengthen ties already existing between the JTTF and the New York State Intelligence Center Counter-Terrorism Center, allowing for greater involvement in investigations into Racially Motivated Violent Extremists, Domestic Violent Extremist groups, Anti-Government/Anti-Authority Violent Extremists, as well as into conspiracy theories & disinformation/misinformation.
The total number of bias incidents investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force increased by 124 percent in October, led by a 214 percent spike in anti-Jewish incidents. Anti-Muslim incidents increased in October from 0 to 8 incidents. Overall, hate crime investigations year to date continued their downward trend with a decrease of 9 percent. There have been a number of high-profile attacks on Muslim and Palestinian New Yorkers, with hate crimes against Asian New Yorkers remaining elevated over the past few years.
“I immediately deployed the New York State Police on October 7 to protect at-risk communities and we have continued our laser focus on public safety since then,” Governor Hochul said. “Surging resources to the Joint Terrorism Task Force is a critical step to ensure New Yorkers are protected from domestic and international threats.”
New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “Coordination across levels of government and agencies is essential to protect New Yorkers. This investment will strengthen the partnership between New York State and the FBI and increase everyone’s capacity to curtail and stop hate-fueled violence.”
