Hate crimes across the state of Pennsylvania have risen the past few years so the state is putting millions toward trying to keep organizations safe.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced in a news release Monday that his administration is making $5 million available to support security enhancements for nonprofit organizations frequently targeted by hate crimes via the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The news release says the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) will offer grants worth $5,000 to $150,000 to organizations included within a bias motivation category for single bias hate crime incidents as identified by the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics publication through their Nonprofit Security Program.
According to the Wolf administration, the money can be used for safety and security planning and training, purchasing safety and security equipment and technology, make upgrades to existing security structures and to make vulnerability and threat assessments.
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Following the 2019 mass shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue the governor signed HB 859 to create the Nonprofit Security Program that invested $15 million to enhance security in places of worship and other nonprofits, the news release said.
“Hate has no place here in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “No Pennsylvanian should be afraid to worship with their community, love who they love, or be who they are – that’s why this program is so important to me and I’ve committed $20 million to protecting the diverse communities of this commonwealth.”
The release said, from 2016 through 2019 Pennsylvania had a yearly average of 88 hate crimes. In 2020 hate crimes rose by 27% to 112 and by 210% to 347 crimes in 2022.
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Applications for the Nonprofit Security Program and grants opened Sept. 30 and will be accepted through Oct. 31, 2022. Awards will be given out in December 2022.
