A S U M M A R Y 

R E P 0 R JATE ~vf'Rs~ E M B E R 
1 

OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO 
JUL 6 19.92 
DOCUMENTS LOCKWOOD LIBRf!n(idenfS 
of 
Bigotry and Violence in Essex County 
1 9 8 8 

·Newjersey Advisory Co;mmittee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 
This summary• report of the Neu·  Statements and l'ieupoints in the  forum u·here the information u·as  
jersey Ad1•isory Committee to the LcS.  report should not he attributed to  gathered  
Commission on Ci!>i/ Rig/Jts was  the Commission or to the .4dl'isory  
prepared for the information and  Committee. but on/)' to indil'idual  
consideration of the Commission  participants in the community  

THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 
The United States Commission on Civil Rights, first created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and reestablished by the Civil Rights Commission Act of 1983, is an independent, bipartisan agency of the Federal Government. By the terms of the act, as amended, the Commission is charged with the following duties pertaining to discrimination or denials of the equal protection of the laws based on race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; investigation of individual discriminatory denials of the right to vote; study of legal developments with respect to discrimination or denials of the equal protection of the law; appraisal of the laws and denials of equal protection of the law; maintenance of a national clearinghouse for information respecting discrimination or denials of equal protection of the 
law; and investigation of patterns or practices of fraud or discrimination in the conduct of Federal elections. The Commission is also required to submit reports to the President and the Congress at such times as the Commission, the Congress, or the President shall deem desirable. 
THE STATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES 
An Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights has been established in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia pursuant to section 105 (c) of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and section 6(c) of the Civil Rights Commission Act of 1983. The Advisory Committees are made up of responsible persons who serve without compensation. Their functions under their mandate from the Commission are to: advise the Commission of all relevant information concerning their respective states on matters within the jurisdiction of the Commission; advise the Commission on matters of mutual concern in the preparation of reports of the Commission to the President and the Congress; receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public and private organizations, and public officials upon matters pertinent to inquiries conducted by the State Advisory Committee; initiate. and forward advice and recommendations to the Commission upon matters in which the Commission shall request the assistance of the State Advisory Committee; and attend, as observers, any open hearing or conference which the Commission may hold within the State. 
A SUMMARY REPORT DECEMBER 1988 

Incidents of Bigotry and Violence in Essex County 
Newjersey Advisory Committee 
to the U.S. Commission on 
Civil Rights 
Tbls summary report oftbe New  Statements and viewpoints in tbe  forum where tbe information was  
jersey Advisory Committee to tbe U.S  report should not be attributed to  gathered  
Commission on Civil Rlgbts was  tbe Commission or to tbe Advisory  
prepared for tbe Information and  Committee, but only to Individual  
consideration of tbe Commission.  participants In tbe rommunlty  


DATE: December 9, 1988 
FROM: New Jersey Advisory Committee 
RE: Incidents of Bigotry and Violence in Essex county 
TO: William B. Allen, Chairman Sherwin T.S. Chan
Murray Friedman, Vice Chairman Robert A. Destro
Mary Frances Berry Francis S. Guess
Esther G. Buckley Blandina c. RamirezMelvin L. Jenkins, Acting staff Director 
The New Jersey Advisory Committee, following a vote of 6-0
by the members present, submits this summary report for the
purpose of briefing the Commission on incidents of bigotry and
violence they reviewed in Essex County. Affirmative responses
from all absent members and recently appointed members confirmed
the unanimous vote. 
The report summarizes information received at a community
forum convened by the Advisory Committee in Newark on June 6,
1986. It is not an intensive or exhaustive review of this
important subject. 
Every effort was made to include a diversity
of viewpoints on the issues by inviting participation from the
victims of the incidents, locally elected officials, law

enforcement officers, the clergy, community groups, and educatorswith opposing views on strategies for combating hate crimes. 
The report also describes two recent directives from theAttorney General of New Jersey to law enforcement chiefexecutives in the State which established a new statewide systemfor reporting bias incidents and new investigation standards. 
The information in this report provides the basis forfurther Committee monitoring of State laws pertaining to bigotryand violence and for further program planning. The Committeehopes this report will be useful as well to the Commission in its
monitoring of this issue. 
Stephen H. Balch, ChairpersonRoland A. Alum, Jr., Vice ChairpersonClyde c. Allen Salvatore A. Farino, Jr. Adam F. ScrupskiJose M. Alvarez Alvin J. Rockoff 
Irene Hill-Smith
Zulima F. Farber Angel L. Roman Ruth W. Waddington 

NEW JERSEY ADVISORY wmTI'EE 
STEPHEN H. BAI.CH, Chairperson :BARBARA lEARNER*
Princeton Princeton 
CLYDE C. ALIEN ALVlli J. ROCKOFF
Plainfield North Brunswick 
ROlAND A. AIIJM, Jr. ANGEL L. RG1AN
West New York Paterson 
JOSE MANUEL ALVAREZ AJ::l.1\M F. SCRJPSKI
Perth ArrOOy Highstown 
JEROME CULP* IRENE HILirSMI'IH
Newark Wenonah 
ZULIMA F. FARBER RtJIH W. WADDlliGroNNorth Bergen Morristown 
SALVA'IORE A. FARINO, Jr. ErMARD ZAZZARINO*Passaic RLnnson 
* No longer a member of the Committee 
Acknowledgemelrt:s 
'Ihe New Jersey state Adviso:ry Committee wishes to thank the staff of theCommission's Eastern Regional Division for its help in the preparation ofthis surrnnary report. 'Ihe Committee wishes to thank also Ruth CUbero,Director, arrl Celeste Wiseblood, staff member, of the fo:nner EasternRegional Office for their help with the fonnn. '!he summa:ry report was theprincipal assigrnnent of Edward Im:'den with support from Linda Raufu andTi.na!Duise Martin. The project was carried out un:ier the overallsupel:Vision of John I. Binkley, Director, Eastern Regional Division. 

TABLE OF <X>Nl'ENTS 
letter of Transmittal 
Intrcx:lu.ct.ion•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••1 The OUtbreak of Hate Crimes••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••! The Coimntmity Fonnn.•••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ·• 3 Panel I--cammunity Leaders and Advocates••••••••••••••4 Panel II--raw E:r1.forcetnerlt•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••6 Panel III--Local Government••••••••••••••••••••••••••12 Panel IV--Educational Institutions•••••••••••••••••••14 
New raw E:rl.forcernent Initiatives•••••••••••••••••••••••••••17 Sl.Jimral::y'. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •2 0 
APPENDICES 
Appendix A 
New Jersey Ethnic Terrorism Statutes••••••••••••••••••••••26 
Appendix B 
state of New Jersey, Department of raw and Public safety SUpplementary Bias Incident Offense Report, Fonn 
U~#l................•............•..•....................27 

Appendix c Bias Incident Offense Report Guide••••••••••••••••••••••••28 

INTROIUcriON 
This rep::>rt Sl.Jimllarizes the New Jersey ·Advisory Cormnittee community forum on· bigotry and violence, held in Newark on Jl.me 6, 1986, and background infonnation on the developments, aftennath, and significance of an outbreak of hate crimes in Maplewood and South Orange, New Jersey, in 1985. The rep::>rt also includes fresh infonnation on the statewide system for rep::>rting bias incidents and newly issued p::>licies and standards for bias 
incident investigations recently promulgated by the Attorney General of New Jersey. 
THE OUl'BREAK OF HATE CRIMES 
In 1986, the p::>pulation of Maplewood Township totaled 22,760, declining from its 1980 total of 22,950; neighboring South Orange Village· totaled 15,710, also declining from its 1980 p::>pulation of 15,864. Both communities are affluent areas of Essex County, which includes Newark, the State's largest city. County p::>pulation declined in 1986 to 841,900, down from its 1980 total of 851,304. over a two and one-half year period, from mid~1983 through 1986, the Maplewood and South Orange communities experienced a total of 781 racially motivated acts. The earliest series of hate crimes plagued a black household in Maplewood in 1983. 2 These victims were the first in a Sp::>radic string of incidents which lasted until early 1986. The other victims, in Maplewood and South Orange, were mostly black families, 3 although white families in Maplewood were also victimized in 
1984.4 

2 

The trerrl of hate incidents in Maplewood turned upNard in 1984 and involved South orange; a reported total of seven incidents occurred in South orange on two days in 1984, three incidents occurred on the 1st of August, and four incidents occurred on the 12th of September. A rash of 155 incidents struck Maplewood, three against white families, between J\.Ule 2 and J\.Ule 30, 1984. '!his ethnic terrorism peaked6 with a particularly malicious spate of incidents in November 1985.7 'Ihe 1985 outbreak of hate violence was very troubling for the conununities. Despite lengthy police investigations, 
there were no immediate results.8 
Several conununity leaders and hate crime victims in both conununities 
expressed disillusiornnent with the ability of the local police to solve the crimes.9 Black residents of Maplewood and South Orange, during a conununity meeting in November 1985, complained that the local police placed low priority on hate crimes and handled the victims of hate crimes insensitively.10 SUch concerns rallied civil rights and conununity groups.11 '!heir support included these efforts: 1) a letter writing campaign to broaden participation in the victim support groups, 2) 
community meetings to gain support for the groups, and 3) broadcast 
appearances to attract public attention to the problern.12 More fonnally, 
numerous victims and residents complained about the incidents to the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Newark, New Jersey.13 
The black victims and the larger conununity14 hoped for the em of the 
violence and a swift and satisfactory conclusion of the local 
investigations into the rash of incidents. In support of the victims, 
3 

groups of concemed citizens developed an infonnal victim support network. A black awareness group, involved in the support efforts, pledged to repair or replace damaged, uninsured property for hate crime victi.ms.15 A civic association in Maplewood established a reward fund with $1,50016 for infonnation leading to the arrest and COIWiction of the perpetrator(S) • later, local government added to the reward effort by establishing the Maplewood Township Committee Pledge F\md17 which eventually increased the reward offer to $7, ooo18 in 1985. 'lhe Anti-Defamation league of the B'nai B'rith (ADL) provided literature for the victims and counseling for victims and others who were coping with the personal trauma of hate violence.19 'Ihese activities and similar efforts coalesced feelings among white and black concerned citizens. 
On July 10, 1986, a suspect was indicted20 and subsequently coiWicted and 
sentenced21 under the New Jersey ethnic terrorism laws enacted in 1981.22 'Ihe Essex County Prosecutor recently reiterated that this case was the 
first to result in successful prosecution for violating the ethnic 
terrorism statutes.23 
THE COMMUNITY FORUM 
'Ihe Maplewood and South Orange incidents were fonnally brought to the attention of the New Jersey State Adviso:ry Committee to the Commission in 1985.24 The Adviso:ry Committee coiWened its COlt1lt1lll'l'ity forum in response to the conplaint that black residents were targets of numerous, unsolved crimes of hate violence in the Maplewood and South Orange connnunities. 'Ihe 
4 

Advisory Conunittee was concerned that the problem was a source of growing tensions. 
'Ihe community fonnn brought together 19 participants from different 
perspectives to share their perceptions on hate crimes in Maplewood and South Orange. 'Ihe Conunittee invited participation from four segments of the community: 1) community leaders and advocacy o:rganizations, 2) law enforcement, 3) local government, and 4) educational institutions. The fonnn featured the presentations of the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the 
office in Newark, New Jersey, the mayors of the affected communities, and several of the victims, who happened also to be community leaders. 
Opening the fonnn, Dr. Stephen Balch, Advisory Conunittee Cbairperson, 
conunented: 
The purpose of this fonnn is to assess the dimensions 
of the problem in Essex COunty...and to t:ry to find 
out what can be done...for the welfare of their 
communities at large.25 

'Ihe fonnn generally achieved its purpose of advising the Conunittee of the scope and nature of the problem by presenting community views on the issues and the crimes. The Conunittee also believed the fonnn achieved its broader purpose of contributing to the welfare .of the communities by providing a neutral ground for public dialogue among persons with divergent views. 
5 
Panel I -community leaders and Advocates 

The panel of community leaders and advocates was cxmtprised of eight 
speakers, each of whom addressed the question, ''What can be done?" Their 
connnents reiterated proposals for community and government actions 
developed over the course of several years. 
The panelists were Albert callaway, a black victim and community activist and president of the South Orange-Maplewocx:i Awareness Council; Sabarah Sabin, a black victim and member of the South Orange-Maplewcxx:l Board of Education; Ellen Greenfield, a white victim and president of Maplewocx:i Friends, a civic organization; and Catherine SUllivan, a black victim and president of the South Orange Connnunity Relations Co.mrnittee; Rabbi Jehiel Orenstein and the Reverend Cllarles 'Ihompson representing the Clergy Association; Estelle David representing the South Orange Civic Association; and Reginald Jeffries, president of the South Orange-Maplewcxx:l 
NAACP. 
The civic association presidents and the clergy all underscored the need 
for community dialogue as a methcxi for dealing with the trauma the communities suffered and for inproving intergroup relations. 
The Reverend 'Ihcmq:>son of the Clergy Association outlined a cxmtprehensive plan for achieving this community-wide dialogue on intergroup relations which included a call for govennnent and private sector supJX>rt for the establishment of a local hmnan relations commission. '!he proJX>sed body would consist of a cross section of business, religious, and conununity 
6 
representatives to investigate discrimination complaints and conduct programs to educate the comrmmity in human relations. 
Mr. callaway of the Awareness Council reccmnnended human relations training for police and local officials to raise their level of sensitivity in dealing with minority groups, especially black males. Ms. Sabin, a black victim and Maplewood school board member, and Ms. SUllivan, a black victim and president of the South Orange Conmtunity Relations Council, said that minority residents should work to become Irore visible in the daily life of 
the comrmmities, e.g., shopping in downtown stores, enjoying local social 
events, and participating in civic gatherings. 
Mr. Jeffries, president of the South Orange-Maplewood NAACP, said that the 
NAACP was concerned about racial tensions at Seton Hall University in South Orange. He reported that each year since 1969 the NAACP has received complaints from black students attending the tmiversity, alleging racial 
insensitivity. He mentioned reported incidents in which black students 
alleged that white students were openly hostile to them. He cited an 
incident involving the campus newspaper. He said that an advertisement 
appeared that included a photograph of a black person who had been 1ynched. 
The black students on campus were offended by the use of the photograph and 
complained of racial insensitivity. Mr. Jeffries reported that the NAACP 
arranged meetings with the tmiversity administration, faculty, and students 
to mediate the complaints. The racial problems were persisting,, he said, 
and the NAACP was concerned that new incidents would worsen the situation. 
7 

Panel II-Iaw Enforcement 
The panelists were John C. McGinley, Special Agent in Charge, Newark Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Iewis I. Becker, investigator, Division of criminal Justice of the New Jersey Deparbnent of Public raw and Safety; Lieutenant John Reynolds, New Jersey Division of State Police; and Chief Edward M. Palardy, director and Chief of Police of West Orange, New Jersey. 
The wave of incidents in Maplewcxxi and South Orange came to a sudden halt after the crest in 1985.26 SUbsequently, the mayors of Maplewcxxi and South Orange and the Essex County Executive requested direct involvement of FBI 
agents in the investigations. The FBI established a joint task force with the local police and provided technical assistance and training27 for the 
local law enforcement agencies which upgraded the quality of the local 
investigative work into the incidents. John c. McGinley, FBI agent, 
appearing before the conununity fonnn as spokesperson for the Maplewood and 
south Orange police task force, revealed new info:rmation about the probe. 
He told the committee of an in1?ending indictment in the cases, a first sign 
of closure in the investigations. FBI Agent McGinley said: 
as of February 18, 1986, the Newark Division of the 
FBI established and is coordinating joint task force 
with the Maplewcxxi and South Oran:Je, New Jersey, 
police deparbnents, ailred at investigating the 
rn.nnerous racially motivated acts of malicious 
vandalism and terrorism in these bordering conununities 
over the past number of years....It is anticipated 
that the results of the combined investigative effort 
will be presented to a grand jury in the near 
future.28 

8 
Agent Mo3inley's announcement at the forum am the resulting news coverage of his statement helped to relieve community tensions, according to Ruth CUbero, then-Director of the Cormnission's Eastern Regional Office.29 
Mr. Becker, state investigator, assured the Cormnittee that the Attorney General of New Jersey was fully committed to combating bigotry and 
violence in the State. He :pointed to the Attorney General's 1980 monitoring program for assessing the extent of bias incidents in the state. 
The program consisted of data collection on incident re:ports and comparison of the data with ADL re:ports. The program lasted from October 1980 until December 1981, he said, am constituted the only set of infonnation on bias 
incidents collected by a State agency. During the 14-month re:porting period, 102 cases of bias incidents were identified, according to State investigator Becker. Describing the analysis of the data, Mr. Becker said: 
(A]n initial finding was projected that these acts were 
not perpetrated by organized hate groups.••we find for 
the most part that it is juveniles, am from "!W:l 
personal experience, it is juveniles who have' a limited 
understanding of what they're doing. Again we go back 
to the need to educate.30 

Mr. Becker, representing the New Jersey Department of Public law and 
Safety, expressed the view that education in human relations is the najor 
ingredient for changing the attitud~ whiCh lead to racial, ethnic, and 
religious bigotry and violence. He ~id that the attitudes of nany perpetrators will change with proper :gui.dance through education, and the 
local :police departments are the most appropriate place to initiate the 
approach. This view of the role of local. :police, he said, underscores the need to train officers at the local level in teclmiques for handling bias incidents. 
9 

Lieutenant Reynolds explained that the New Jersey State Police are primarily involved with hate crimes perpetrated by organized hate groups. In this regard, they were ergaged in an ongoing task force with the FBI to monitor hate groups. '!he local police usually take responsibility for the other types of incidents, he said. '!he dimensions of the problem in New Jersey, he pointed out, are difficult to determine using available data. As an example, he said: 
New Jersey is still third in the nation in the number 
of bias incidents, and I'm somewhat relying on the 
ADL' s statistics for this. '!hey seem to be the only 
ones that are able to supply us with statistics.31 

Lieutenant Reynolds felt the State's third place national ranking for bias incidents, following california and New York, was misleading because the ADL listing of incidents and the state police listings showed the same incidents only 20 percent of the time. He pointed out also that the nature of the problem in New Jersey is not the same as the other high-ranking States. A majority of the incidents in New Jersey are not the work of organized groups but juveniles, he said. He held a different view than Mr. Becker of the state Department of Public raw and safety on the role of police in shaping attitudes about prejudice. He said: 
'!he solution to the problem, I guess, is multi-faceted, 
especially if 90 percent... [of the perpetrators are] ... 
juveniles... [when they] .••are arrested for these 
particular offenses. Educational institutions must 
sensitize our youth. We keep talking about sensitivity 
training with police departments. We [police officers] 
are not going to sensitize our youth. We don't get 
first crack at them.32 

10 

Lieutenant Reynolds said racial and etlmic graffiti and varrlalism are th~ types of incidents most often reported to the State police. He said that the State police were unable to track bias incidents through the State1s unifonn crime reporting (UCR) system because the UCR has no category for these crimes. To find these reports in the system would require sifting through all the arrest reports to detennine how many were hate crimes, and there were a total of 68,000 arrests that year, he said. 
Mr. cartwright represented the Essex County Prosecutor. He said the office could not discuss the specifics of an ongoing investigation and therefore his conunents would be limited regarding the incidents investigated by the task force. As for the law enforcement role of the county prosecutor with regard to pursuing indicbnents, he explained: 
In the nonnal course of events with law enforcement in 
this county, the prosecutor1 s office does not 
ordinarily get involved until an arrest has been made 
on an indictable offense. In that case, the carrplaints 
have been signed in the municipal coUrt and the case 
comes down to the prosecutor1s office for consideration 
and presentation before a grand jury and an ultimate 
prosecution, whether it be through plea bargain or 
through trial....Nobody1s been arrested; therefore 
nobody1 s doing anything. Arresting someone if there1 s 
no proof for the charges is merely finding a scapegoat 
to make people feel better.33 

He went on to point out the difficulty involved in gathering evidence in hate crimes. He said that often there is little physical evidence linking the crime to the perpetrator and no witnesses. He pointed out further tha1 in many bias-related cases it is necessary to rely on leads provided by persons who know the perpetrator and are willing to come fo:rward with infonnation. He said he hoped leads of this sort would develop which would assist the Maplewood and South Orange police investigations. 
11 

Chief Palardy profiled the West Orange police bias incident investigation unit, the first of its kind in the State, he said. The chief said he created the unit in May 1981, using infonnation he gathered at a conference on combating bigotry arrl violence. He enlisted the involvement of the mayor of West Orange, the State division of .criminal justice, and the ADL in developing the structure for the unit. '!he mission of the unit, comprised of one officer, one detective, arrl a sergeant, is to deter acts of ethnic, racial, arrl religious violence before they occur, according to the chief. He added that the unit reports directly to him arrl emphasized that he placed the unit high in the organizational structure to demonstrate his conunitment to its mission arrl to give it credibility. He said that any department planning to create a similar unit should consider this first because the bias incident unit needs this level of conunitment from the chief to succeed. 
Describing the functions of the bias unit, Chief Palardy said: 
Besides handling in full the investigations into all 
ethnic incidents, the bias unit also collects necessary 
infonnation on all aspects of these crimes. 
Infonnation is collected from criminal suspects, other 
police agencies, arrl religious and conmmity 
organizations. '!his infonnation, including data on any 

ethnic terrorist group in this area, is supplied to my 
office arrl other mernb9rs of the police force to keep 
the entire police department abreast of any 
devel~ts in trends of ethnic violence arourx:l the 
region.34 

'Ihe chief said the unit mediates between perpetrators and victims in an attempt to rectify the bias incident through education arrl sensitivity. 'Ihe unit arranges arrl supervises ''ventilation" sessions or face-to-face 
12 

meetings. 'Ihese sessions help the parties to understand one another and to assess the pain and anguish which the incident caused for the victim. As an example, the chief recalled an incident involving a 16-year-old youth who was charged with daubing a swastika in front of a Jewish person's business in West Orange. '!he youth was brought to the police station where he faced his victim in a bias unit ventilation session. '!he youth and the victim talked about the incident and the resulting pain which the antisemitic act inflicted on the Jewish business person. '!he chief said the 
youth's previously bigoted attitude was transfonned by the experience, and he was very remorseful. '!he youth apologized tearfully, later composed a written apology, and apparently refonned, the chief said. Another 
important outcome of the session, the chief said, was the relief which the 
victim felt by confronting the perpetrator personally and moving him to 
realize his mistake. '!his sort of work won wann praise for the bias unit, 
including the 1986 ADL community relations achievement award.35 
Panel III-IDeal Goverrnnent 
'!he participants on this panel were the Honorable Robert Grasmere, mayor of Maplewood, the Honorable Bertrand Spiotta, village president of South Orange, and the Honorable Shari Weiner, mayor of Livingston. 
'!he mayors of Maplewood and South Orange, as an example of the fonnn' s 
importance, took the opportunity to address a sensitive point: Whether 
local goverrnnent had been fully c6nunitted to investigating the incidents 
thoroughly and said that each had observed a voluntary ban on public 
13 

statements about the investigations for several months. '!hey did this to pennit the FBI and local police an opportunity to conduct the investigation unenctnnbered by publicity, they said. '!he resulting gap in public infonnation about the status of the probe gave a public impression that little was being done to solve the cri.nes, they said. 'Ihese perceptions helped to fuel cx::nnplaints against the local governments that each needed to do more to address the problems of bias incidents, the mayors concluded. 
'!he mayors spoke candidly about their conunon view that the Essex County Prosecutor was initially reluctant to seek irrlicbnents based on the evidence gathered by local police.36 '!he mayors revealed that they and the Essex County Executive held a confidential deliberation on how they might corwince the county prosecutor to pursue the problem more aggressively.37 Their discussion ended with their decision to go beyond the local law enforcement agencies, including the county, and to seek help from the FBI with the investigations. '!heir request precipitated establishment of the joint task force and led ultimately to the successful corwiction of the perpetrator, they felt. 
'!he mayors also provided infonnation on minority employment in local government and infonnation on the Village of Livingston. Mayor Grasmere reported there is one black patrolman on the 50-person Maplewood police force. Similarly, one black firenan was the only black person in the Maplewood fire department. He said that blacks constitute three to four percent of the appointees serving on city boards, and that black population in Maplewood is five percent. 
14 
Mayor Spiotta reported that blacks make up 10 percent of the nn.micipal work force in South Orange. He said these employees are part of the police force, sanitation, and other departments. '!he fire department has no black firefighters because blacks have not applied for such positions, the mayor said. 38 South Orange has a total JXJPU.lation of 15,864 and a black population of 1,593, he said. 
Mayor Weiner presented a brief statement, depicting Livingston as a highly stable cormnunity with an acconunodating attitude toward its minority 
families. She reported that, according to the ADL area office in Livingston, there were eight bias incidents in the cormnunity between 1984 
and 1986; two of the eight incidents ~olved the ADL office. Livingston 
has a black population of 200 and a total population of 28,000, she said. The larger minority groups in Livingston are Asian-Indian Americans who number 1,ooo persons, and Asian AmeriCCl!lS also numbering 1,000 persons, she 
said. The Livingston fire department is an all-volunteer unit, but none of the firefighters is black. The Livings;ton police force is part of the 
I 
city government, but there are no black police officers, according to the mayor. 
Panel IV--Educational Institutions 
This panel included the Reverend Denni~ Mahon, Director of Planning and 
I 
I 

Institutional Research, seton Hall University; Dr. Richard Willet, 
I 
principal of Columbia High School in M.:iplewood; and Dr. Joseph D.lchesneau, 
I 
15 

principal of South orange Middle School. Racist graffiti appeared on the exterior of public schools and racial tension developed on the university's campus between groups of white and black students. 'lhese incidents, while they were few in rnnnber, pronpted the educational institutions to action. 
Reverern Mahon represented Monsignor John Fortillo, chancellor of Seton Hall University. He reported that racial tensions developed on campus in 
, April 1986, apparently as an outgrowth of a dispute between white fraternities and some black students. He said concerned students gave the university information warninc:J of a racial confrontation and possible fightinc:J on campus but nothinc:J specific on the cause of the problem. The situation was contained quickly by the university, he said, and was an isolated problem. '!he racial atlnosphere on carnpus is usually good, Reverern Mahon said, addinc:J: 
(O]ur churches (Roman catholic] teach us that short of 
the end of the world, we're not goinc:J to be blissful 
and Edenic here. Racism and bigotry are sins and our 
task is to•••get our students to cease and desist where 
it applies to them in particular. But the recognition 
at the end is that finally it's not goinc:J to COITpletely

39go away. 
Dr. Willet reported that a mostly white group of 13 Columbia High School students initiated a school dialogue about the bias incidents in Maplewood in 1985. He encouraged the group and noted that the school grounds had been free of incidents but the students were concerned about what was happeninc:J in their conum.mity. '!he school administration started a peer counselinc:J program intended to help students examine racial and ethnic stereotypes and ways to improve intergroup relations. '!he school offered 
16 
its faculty a voluntary workshop in teaching in a multicultural classroom. 
Dr. Willet reported that 20 percent of the faculty participated. He said 
he was gradually overcoming teacher resistance to the program as the school 
embarked on: 
a three-prong approach for the future, one that
involves the kids in the school to help them,· i.e., the
peer counseling program arrl some special education
programs for black students; an educational program for
parents; arrl an educational program for teachers to
improve instructional strategies arrl to leam IOOre
about how to teach in a multicultural classroom. 40 

Dr. Willet reported that the school has five to seven black prof~sionals among a staff of 120 teachers arrl eight counselors. He reported that the student population is 21 percent black. He said that black students are suspended arrl are also placed in low ability classes at a disproportionately high rate. He concluded: 
I think that has an effect on their image of theiiSelves arrlthe role they feel they can fulfill in a public high school.I think that that's something that we as a school need tocontinue to work on. But, in assessing the overall schoolclimate, I would say it's pretty good for IOOSt kids. 41 
Dr. Duchesneau described an imaginative human relations program that uses 
role playing to raise student ~itivity to racial, ethnic, arrl religious prejudice. The group consisted of 25 students arrl was conducted in the 
fall of 1985. A second phase of this program irivolved leadership training. In this program, students with a talent for leadership were prepared for greater roles with their peers in a three-day leadership workshop at a local college. The program was intended to lift the barriers 
of race arrl culture between key students and to return those students as role models to the school environment. 
17 

NEW lAW ENFORCEliDn' INITIATIVES 
Since the Committee's forum in 1986, New Jersey govennnent under the leadership of the attorney general has undertaken a new program to upgrade enforcement of the state's etlmic terrorism statutes and to ilnprove. the quality of investigations into all reports of hate crimes. In the first of two major initiatives, the state attorney general fonnally directed all police deparbnents in the State to report all incidents of racial and etlmic bias that take place within their municipalities.42 '!he infonnation conpiled under the new system will be the first such conprehensive data collected by a public agency in New Jersey. 
At the news conference announcing the new reporting system on September 9, 
1987, the State attorney general said: 
By Executive Directive, I am now fonnally directing
municipal police to report on a monthly basis through 
the State Police unifonn crime reporting system all 
incidents of racial or religious terrorism or any other 
crime that may have a racial, religious or etlmic 
motive or connection. With this infonnation, we will 
be able to detennine whether we have a problem in New 
Jersey and if so where the problem might be. Only when 
we can identify a problem can we analyze it and deal 
with it.43 

'!he impetus for the executive directive44 started in late 1985, following the attorney general's attenpt to verify statistics on bias incidents conpiled by the ADL. He found, however, that no state agency had conplete 
figures and that an accurate comparison was impossible. As a result, the attorney general said he created in Marc:h. 1986 a 14-member, broadly based, ad hoc committee on reporting bias incidents. '!he committee's task was to 
18 

develop a o::mprehensive, efficient statewide bias incident reporting system. 'Ihe attorney general acx::epted the c:x:mmrl.ttee' s reconunendations for creating a reporting system and in August 1987 ordered law enforcement chief executives to commence reporting urrler the new procedures on January 1, 1988. The directive instructs the State police to collect monthly reports of all bias incidents from local police departments, using the SUpplementary Bias Incident Offense Report. 45 
The second step of the attorney general's law enforcement initiative came in January 1988. The attorney general issued new bias incident investigation standards in a rnemorandtnn46 distributed to all law enforcement chief executives in the State.47 Among the chief items in the 51-page rnemorandtnn are requirements for local law enforcement agencies to provide all officers with written orders and directives based on the standards, to announce publicly the agency's bias incident investigation policy, to train all officers in bias incident response and investigation, and to visit personally the victim of a bias incident and reassure the victim that appropriate inVestigative and enforcement methods will be used by the law enforcement agency to properly address the incident. 
The attorney general's rnemorandtnn further mandates eleven standards for handling bias incidents. Among the procedureS, law enforcement agencies are instructed to approach victims in a sensitive and supportive manner and to calm the victim and reduce the victim's fear and alienation through direct ongoing official cormnunication regarding the bias incident. The agencies must respond to every reported incident, o::mplete a followup 
19 

investigation, am ensure that security is increased in the affected area. '!he agencies must also enlist the aid of religious, conmmity, business, and educational groups as well as other conununity agencies in an effort to moderate the impact of the bias incident. '!hey are also to reduce the potential for counter-violence amp~gocxi police-comnrunity relations. 
Another key feature of the attorney general's standards links the criminal investigations with the New Jersey Victim-Witness Advocacy Program, already established in each county prosecutor's office. 'lhe program entitles victims and witnesses to support services during criminal investigations, such as info:rmation on the workings of the criminal justice process, claims for victim compensation, the status of the investigation, and pretrial release of suspects. '!he New Jersey Violent Crimes Compensation Board handles VictimsI Claims for medical am other expenses• 
'!he State1s 21 county prosecutors are responsible for supei:Vising the irrplementation48 of the new standards. At an April 1988 monthly meeting of the county prosecutors, the State provided each prosecutor with a model certification letter of COl'lpliance to irrlicate that the standards were received, read, urrlerstocxi, am irrplemented.49 In the following weeks, the county prosecutors instructed all the chief law enforcement executives to prepare letters of certification of COl'lpliance, using the model letter, and to return their letters .to the county prosecutors by July 15, 1988.50 '!he chiefs were also to certify by the July deadline that bias incident reports, received since January 1, 1988, have been investigated on a case-by-case basis am reports shared with state police within 48 hours of 
20 

the incident.51 At this writing, the attorney general has instnlcted the county prosecutors to collect all these letters of certification of compliance and to forward them to the State by August 1, 198852. 
SUMMARY 
The Corranittee learned that aggressive enforcement of New Jersey's ethnic terrorism statutes by law enforcement agencies trained in handling bias incidents, once invoked, provided a significant deterrent in Maplewood and South orange. As a result of local police actions, assisted by the FBI, one perpetrator was apprehended and convicted and there have been no further reports of hate crimes in Maplewqcn and South orange from January 
I 
1986 to May 1988. This success against racial, religious, and ethnic 
I 
vandalism and intimidation was made possible through the concerted efforts I of religious and civic groups, local and fstate government, and law 
enforcement agencies, all demonstrating their detennination to combat 
I ! 
bigotry and violence in their midst. 
The Corranittee concludes that the signifieance of the Maplewood and South 
I 
orange experiences demonstrates the need 1 f?r quick, thorough, and corrpassionate police responses to e~ery bias incident report for an 
I . 
effective law enforcement policy against lhfte crimes. Fully inplernenting this aspect of local police investigations: and connnunity relations appears 
, I ! 
to contribute substantially to comforting the vict.iins, avoiding connnunity 
21 tensions, preventing further incidents, am maintaining credibility for local government am law enforcement officials. 
22 

FOOINCJI'ES 

1. 
Nonnan c. Hope, Cllief, Civil Rights Unit, Criminal Investigative Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, letter to Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr., Cllainnan, u.s. Conunission on Civil Rights, Apr. 3, 1986 (copy of letter on file at Eastern Regional Division Office) (hereaftercited as Hope Letter). 

2. 
Jonathan Tchack, Assistant Prosecutor/Director, Office of Corruption and Economic Crime Section, Office of the CountyProsecutor, Essex County, telephone interview, May 20, 1988 


(hereafter cited as Tchack Telephone Interview). 
3. Memorandum entitled "Report on Racially Motivated Vandalism in Maplewcxxi and South Orange" from Cllarles Jones, Jr., Cllainnan, SUbcommittee on Acts of Violence, Tile Black/Jewish Dialogue, to 
the members of the Black/Jewish Dialogue, p. 2 (Nov. 7, 1984) (copy of memorandum on file at Eastern Regional Division Office)(hereafter cited as Jones Memorandum). 
4. Jones Memorandum, supra, at 2. 
5. 
"U.S. Joins Maplewcxxi in Racial Terrorist Probe," Newark star Ledger, July 18, 1984, at 1. 

6. 
'!he Honorable Robert Grasmere, Mayor of Maplewood, N.J., reported in "Transcript of Connnunity Fonnn on Racial, Religious, and Ethnic Vandalism in Affected Connnunities in Essex County,"held by the New Jersey State Advisory Conunittee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights at Newark, N.J. (June 5, 1986) (copy


available at Eastern Regional Division Office) (hereafter cited as Transcript) . 
7. 
"Terrorist Targets Homes with Threat, Vandalism, Maplewood and South Orange, " News Record, Nov. 14, 1985, at 1. 

8. 
"Bomb Scare Disrupts Meeting on Anti-Racial Acts," Newark star ledger,Nov. 19, 1985, at 1. 

9. 
"Victims of Racial Attacks Join Forces," Maplewood and South Orange News-Record, Nov. 14, 1985,' at 1. 

10. 
Ibid. 

11. 
Prominent among the groups were the South Orange-Maplewood Awareness Council, the regional office of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith in Livi.ngston, N.J. , the South Orange-Maplewood Bl::'a.nc'.h of the NAACP, the Maplewcxxi Friends civic association, the Clergy Association, and the South 


23 

Orange Civil Association. All were represented at the fon.nn. 
12. 
Letter from Albert callaway, president, South OrangeMaplewood Awareness Council, to the citizens of South Orange and Maplewood (Nov. 18, 1985) (copy of letter on file at Eastern Regional Division Office) (hereafter cited as callaway Letter) . 

13. 
Hope Letter, ~,at 1. 

14. 
Letter from Beverly A. Goldrosen, Assistant Director, New Jersey Regional Office, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, to the victims of bias-crime incidents of South Orange and Maplewood (Nov. 15, 1985) (copy of letter ori file at the Eastern Regional Division Office) (hereafter cited as Goldrosen Letter). 

15. 
callaway Letter, ~, at 1. 

16. 
Ellen Greenfield, President, Maplewood Friends, Transcript, ~,at 


23. 
17. 
"Racial Incidents Upset Maplewood Residents," Newark Star-ledger, Nov. 17, 1985, at 1. 

18. 
''Maplewood Boosts Bounty on Vandals," Newark Star-ledger, Nov. 27, 1985, at 3. 

19. 
Goldrosen Letter, ~,at 1. 

20. 
Blake lewis, Special Agent, Newark Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, telephone inteJ:view, Oct. 13, 1987. 

21. 
Davidson was tried and convicted for violations of the New Jersey ethnic terrorism statutes in Essex County Court in Januacy 1987. Davidson was sentenced in Essex County Court on March 6, 1987, on three counts: 1)criminal mischief, 2) ethnic terrorism by putting another in fear of l:x:x:iily violence, arxi 3) ethnic terrorism by defacement of private property or premises by such acts. He was sentenced to serve 364 days in county jail, to serve five years' probation, to pay $1,200 restitution to Jean and Marie Pierre of Maplewood, N.J., to pay $1,050 in fines, arxi upon completion of jail time, to serve 200 hours of community service to include removal of graffiti from public places in Maplewood, N.J. 


At this writing, Davidson is seeking an appeal in the state supreme court. His appeal in the State court of appeals failed in early May 1988. Tchack Telephone Intel:view, ~. 
22. 
N.J. Stat. Ann. subsection 2C:33-10 (West 198X). Note that all three statutes are in subchapter 33. '!he relevant statutes are appended to this report at app. A. 

23. 
Memorandum entitled "Bias Incident Investigation Standards for Essex County law Enforcement" from Herbert H. Tate, Jr. , Essex County Prosecutor, to all chiefs of police in Essex County, p. 2 (Apr. 6, 1988) (copy of 


24 

memorandum on file at t;h,e Eastern Regional Division Office) (hereafter
cited as Tate Memorandum). 

24. 
Memorandum entitled "Official Request for FBI Assistance" from Ruth J. CUbero, Director, Eastern Regional Office, u.s. Commission on Civil Rights,to J. Al latham, Jr., Staff Director, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, p. 1 (Jan. 28, 1986) (copy of memorandum on file at Eastern Regional Division Office). 

25. 
Transcript, ~,at 2. 

26. 
Robert Grasmere, mayor, Maplewood, N.J., Transcript, ~,at 150. 

27. 
Hope letter, ~,at 1. 

28. 
John c. Ma:;inley, Special Agent in Cfuu:ge, Newark Division, Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, Transcript, ~at89. 


29. 
Ruth CUbero, Director, Eastern Regional Office, U.S. Commission on 
civil Rights, telephone inteJ::view, Aug. 6, 1986. 


30. 
Transcript, ~, at 93-97~ 

31. 
Transcript, ~at 99. 

32. 
Transcript1 ~at 102. 

33. 
'lianscript, ~I at 110-13. 

34. 
Transcript1 ~I at 132. 

35. 
Transcript, ~Iat 134-35. 

36. 
Bertrand Spiotta, village president, South Orange, N.J. , Transcript, ~, at 158-59. 

37. 
Ibid. 

38. 
Transcript, ~I at 160. 

39. 
Transcript, ~I at 194. 

40. 
Transcript1 ~Iat 182. 

41. 
Transcript, ~Iat 203. 

42. 
News Statement, w. Cary Edwards, Attorney General of the State of New Jersey (Sept. 9, 1987) (copy on file at Eastern Regional Division Office). 

43. 
Ibid. 


25 
44. Exec. Dir. No. 1987-3, W. cary Edwards, Attorney General of the stateof New Jersey (effective Aug. 20, 1987). 
45. see app. B, state of New Jersey, Department of raw and Public SafetySUpplementacy Bias Incident Offense Report, Fonn UCR -#1 (7/87), andapp. c, Bias Incident Offense Report Guide. 
46. Memorandtnn entitled "Bias Incident Investigation Standards--Policyand Prcx:::edures for New Jersey raw Enforcement" from W. cary Edwards,
Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, to all law enforcement chief
executives (Jan. 28, 1988). 
47. Alvin Schpen, Deputy Attorney General, Police Bureau of the New JerseyDepartment of raw and Public Safety, Newark, New Jersey, telephoneinterview, July 26, 1988. 
48. Ibid. 
49. Ibid. 
50. Ibid. 
51. Ibid. 
52. Ibid. 
*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989--619-520/00803