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Asian Hate Crimes Task Force goes undercover in effort to curb hate crimes across the city

The force was created last August with 25 detectives who speak about 12 Asian languages.

News 12 Staff

May 13, 2021, 2:44 AM

Updated 1,308 days ago

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As instances of Asian hate continue to plague the city, the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force set out to put an end to these crimes. 
The force was created last August with 25 detectives who speak about 12 Asian languages. 
“A lot of the Asians believe it or not they’re very hesitant to report crimes and even if they report it, they don't always follow through because of the language barrier,” said Sgt. Supervisor Detective Squad Stacy Lee. 
And different factors can determine whether a crime is considered a hate crime.
“A lot of victims don't understand that it’s what you really hear, prior to the attack, during the attack, after the attack that makes it a hate crime,” said Lee. 
In 2019, there were three recorded Asian hate crimes. Last year, there were 17 Asian hate crimes -- and this year that number has more than quadrupled to 81 instances throughout the city. 
The task force says it is branching out throughout the city and noticing spikes in specific boroughs. 
“Right now, currently in Manhattan and Queens. In Queens we have a spike in Flushing,” said Lee. 
They are even going undercover. 
 “We get the criminal complaint in the police department, we’re able to see the area that is hidden so they move all the undercovers to that particular location. And we’ve been successful, believe it or not, there have been attacks on undercover officers in the NYPD,” said Lee. 
The task force also holds seminars for the community to teach them self-defense techniques against hate crimes. 
The next seminar will be at the Tiger Schulmann Martial Arts Center this Sunday at 1:45 p.m. 
If you believe you are a victim of an Asian hate crime you can email the task force at asianhctf@nypd.org