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SALT LAKE CITY — Hate crimes are the topic of discussion across Salt Lake County. It comes after a nail salon was vandalized and left with a hate-filled message on the walls last week.
Community partners, dedicated to fighting hate crimes, are encouraging people to report these types of crimes.
Chief Mike Brown with the Salt Lake City Police Department told KSL-TV he believes he has seen an increase in hate crimes in recent years.
"There's a lot of fear, there's a lot of harm, and there's a lot of concern," he said.
Nationwide, hate crimes are going up, according to the FBI. Last year more than 11,600 cases were reported, but anticipate that number to be much higher as many of these crimes go unreported. Reports of antisemitism and islamophobia are also on the rise.
Brown said the department is dedicated to investigating these types of crimes and helping the victims.
"I want you to know that our detectives are trained to follow up and to find out, to investigate the crime, but also the why," he said.
The Salt Lake City Police Department is also a part of the Community Partners Against Hate coalition, which is made up of other community leaders and organizations.
The coalition, created in 2019 and sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of Utah, launched a public service announcement and campaign for reporting hate crimes.
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