City to Join County Panel on Relations

Concerned that several racially motivated crimes in recent years are tarnishing the city’s image, the City Council this week approved spending $5,000 to join the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard said the city will seek help from the agency, which monitors race relations and hate crimes and works with police, in developing programs aimed at preventing further incidents.

“It’s an organized committee we can call upon to fight hate crimes and violence against others,” Barnard said.

Councilwoman Shirley S. Dettloff said that the dues paid to be part of the commission’s efforts will come out of the Police Department’s budget and will be money well spent.

“They have had a long history of dealing with not only hate crimes but establishing programs and dealing with crises,” she said of the agency. “Their experience is something we need to be a part of.”

Most recently, the city requested the commission’s assistance and advice after the stabbing of a 20-year-old Native American man at the beach by a self-described white supremacist.

With the help of the commission, Dettloff said, city officials will develop a policy expressing intolerance of hate crimes and racial disturbances. The policy will likely be considered by the council later this month, she said.

Among other concerns, Dettloff said, the policy will focus on how to deal with individuals who commit hate crimes.

The hope, Dettloff said, is to create an atmosphere in which everyone is treated with dignity.