AUSTIN, Texas — Five months after the Austin Police Department rolled out its "Safe Place" initiative, it garnered the support of about 100 businesses.
The initiative partners with businesses throughout the City to assist victims of hate crimes and increase reporting of these crimes within the LGBTQ+ community.
Christian Mendoza, the Safe Place coordinator for APD, said businesses tell him that they have received great feedback from the community so far.
"This is a great opportunity, a great partnership with APD. For us, it's great to hear the community is also happy we are doing something to help victims of hate crimes," Mendoza said.
Since APD adopted the program in August 2019, Mendoza said they have received zero reports of hate crime victims using these safe spaces.
Mendoza said the results are surprising, and believes this could be both good and bad.
"It's maybe sending a message to suspects of the crimes and telling them, 'Hey, we are not going to tolerate hate crimes in our city,' and the police department is going to do the best we can to enforce those hate crime laws and ensure that those suspects get caught," Mendoza said.
However, according to Mendoza, hate crimes are underreported across the country. He believes another reason nobody has used this resource might be a result of fear.
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"Across the nation, there might be underreporting because people don't know what a hate crime is, they are fearful or don't trust the police department, or, oftentimes, the police department doesn't report those crimes appropriately or to the FBI, which leads to that massive gap," he explained.
In 2019, approximately 12 hate crimes were reported to the APD. In 2018, 19 cases were reported and, in 2017, 17 cases were reported.
Mendoza encouraged anyone experiencing a hate crime to feel comfortable coming to these locations, regardless of their status.
"If you have been a victim of a hate crime, we are not going to care about their immigration status. We are not going to care about any other factors," he said. "We are simply here to protect the victims and provide them with those resources."
Businesses, hospitals and nonprofits involved in the program can be identified by a sticker on a window at the location. The decal is a rainbow police badge with the words "Safe Place" written inside the badge.
Safe Place was originally created by the Seattle Police Department to address low reporting of anti-LGBTQ+ crimes.
APD is looking for more businesses to open their doors to this program. Any interested business owners can learn more about the program by contacting the department.
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