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For over 45 years, the Community Relations Service (CRS) has been asked to provide its experienced mediators to help local communities resolve conflicts and disturbances relating to race, color, or national origin. Each year CRS' highly skilled conciliators bring hundreds of community-wide conflicts to peaceful closure across America and its territories. With the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in October, 2009, CRS is authorized to work with communities to employ strategies to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or disability. CRS will continue to employ strategies to prevent and respond to community tension relating to alleged discrimination and violent hate crimes committed on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
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CRS PROGRAMS The Community Relations Service (CRS) serves as “America’s Peacemaker� for the U.S. Department of Justice, by responding to community conflicts that arise from differences of race, color, and national origin. CRS helps communities mediate disputes, provides conflict resolution training, and helps communities enhance their capacity to independently prevent and resolve future conflicts. With the passage of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in October 2009, CRS is authorized to assist communities to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. CRS will continue to employ strategies to prevent and respond to community tensions relating to alleged discrimination and violent hate crimes committed on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Our professional mediators work directly with state and local officials, community-based organizations, and law enforcement on a voluntary and costfree basis. All CRS mediators are required by law to conduct their activities in confidence, without publicity, and are prohibited from disclosing confidential information. CRS is not a law enforcement authority and does not impose resolutions, investigate, prosecute, or assign blame or fault. Rather, our services are intended to help communities solve problems and work through challenging conflicts.
HELPING COMMUNITIES Conflict Resolution CRS meets with parties in conflict to understand their concerns and to assess the situation. Then, through informal conciliation sessions or a formal mediation process, we bring the parties involved in the conflict together to assist in developing their own resolutions.
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Law Enforcement Mediation Program Our Law Enforcement Mediation Program is a two-day course that strengthens the problem-solving and mediation skills of law enforcement officers and commanders who serve diverse communities. We work with public safety officials to identify opportunities to enhance the level of mutual trust and respect between their department and the community, and to eliminate barriers to effective police services. A residual benefit of the program is that many of the issues addressed can lead to a reduced number of calls for service and an increase in patrol efficiency. Responding to Allegations of Racial Profiling This eight hour program brings together law enforcement and community members to address perceptions of racial profiling and biased policing practices. The program can be tailored to the specific needs of police and a community, and offers various benefits. It is helpful in reducing tensions and creating a shared understanding of factors that contribute to mistrust. It is an effective tool in a police-community relations initiative or problem solving process, and it encourages collaborative police-community relations. Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (SPIRIT) The SPIRIT program is a two half-day problem solving interactive student based problem solving program that engages students in developing solutions to problems associated with allegations or discrimination, harassment, and hate activity in schools and creating the safest possible environment for learning. SPIRIT also engages school administrators, teachers, school resource officers, local officials, community leaders, and parents in the process of identifying and responding to these conflicts in schools. City Site Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (City SPIRIT) City SPIRIT is a two-day problem solving and resolution program that brings together representatives from local government agencies, community, faith-based organizations, law enforcement, and businesses to develop collaborative approaches for reducing racial conflicts and addressing the factors that contribute to the conflicts. The parties may also develop approaches for preventing and responding to alleged violent hate crimes on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. This program helps communities establish a lasting capacity to prevent and respond to conflicts.
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Human Relations Commission Training CRS provides customized training and technical assistance to local Human Relations Commissions (HRC). If a local government is interested in starting a HRC, CRS can help. Additionally, if an existing HRC is interested in best practices for responding to discrimination complaints, CRS can help. We will work with local officials to develop a training or consultative program that supports a Commissions’ efforts to better serve the needs of the community. Assessment of Tension Breeding Factors CRS is available to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of racial and gang-related ethnic tensions, as well as tensions that may lead to acts of violence in schools on the basis of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. We will meet with administrators, faculty, staff, and students to collectively identify concerns and share their perspectives on issues that warrant attention. This information is captured and used to provide a snapshot of the challenges affecting a school, and facilitate a process with school officials to address these challenges. Arab, Muslim, & Sikh (AMS) Cultural Awareness Program CRS offers a four-hour program intended to familiarize law enforcement and government officials with some of the customs and cultural aspects of Arab, Muslim, and Sikh communities. The program is an effective tool for helping law enforcement avoid behavior and actions that may be perceived offensive. In addition, the program can act as a broader initiative to strengthen the relationship between local officials and the Arab, Muslim, or Sikh communities that they serve. CRS also offers a Train-the-Trainer program that prepares Arab, Muslim, and Sikh community leaders, to provide local service officials and first responders with a fundamental understanding of Arab, Muslim, and Sikh cultures. Hate Crimes Program The Hate Crimes Program is a two-day training program that provides state and local law enforcement officers with skills and knowledge crucial in effectively addressing hate crimes. The program is designed to familiarize Law Enforcement Officials with best practices for identifying, reporting, investigating, and prosecuting hate crimes. The program also covers strategies for effectively educating the public about hate crimes.
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Self-Marshalling Assistance & Training CRS assists local law enforcement, city officials, and demonstration organizers with planning and managing safe marches and demonstrations. We facilitate meetings between all parties involved, and serve as a neutral entity to help ensure that, information is shared appropriately, so marches and demonstrations are as safe as possible. CRS also provides self-marshalling training for organizers of protests and demonstrations. The training covers areas such as obtaining permits, route selection, effective communication and decision-making procedures during the event, provide technical assistance with logistical management, and contingency planning. Rumor Control CRS assists in establishing rumor control measures following community incidents, protests, law enforcement investigations, jury verdicts, and other developments that contribute to the elevation of racial tension and of the potential for violent hate crimes. We offer technical assistance to control inflammatory rumors with accurate and credible information by employing a proactive and coordinated approach to publicity, formalized community notification processes, and other appropriate information dissemination measures.
Frequently Asked Questions What does the Community Relations Service Do? CRS helps local communities prevent and resolve racial and ethnic conflicts. As a neutral facilitator of conflict mediations, we work with community, law enforcement, school, and government leaders to build local capacity to solve future problems. With the passage of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in October 2009, CRS is authorized to assist communities to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. CRS will continue to employ strategies to prevent and respond to community tensions relating to alleged discrimination and violent hate crimes committed on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
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Where does CRS work? Trained impartial CRS conflict resolution specialists are stationed in 10 Regional and 4 Field offices across the county. Most of our work comes from requests across the U.S. by police chiefs, mayors, school superintendents, other local and State authorities, and leaders of communitybased organizations. They ask CRS to help when there is serious community racial conflict and when they believe that impartial mediators help calm tensions, prevent violence, and get people talking. CRS works across the country, and in communities large and small, rural, suburban, and urban. How does CRS work? CRS is available on a 24-hour basis and provides services when requested by local authorities. CRS follows established and standardized procedures in conducting its work for community leaders. CRS mediators are required by law to conduct their activities in strict confidence and are prohibited from disclosing information about cases for which it provides services. What issues lead to CRS involvement? Most of the work involves situations where there is racial conflict, the potential for violence involving police agencies or communities, or schools, or in the aftermath of a violent hate crime committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, natural origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. The most volatile situations CRS responds to are negative reactions to incidents involving allegations of police use of force, the staging of major demonstrations and counter-protest events, major school disruptions, and organized hate activities. Why is CRS located in the Justice Department? CRS represents the Department of Justice in one of its most important missions – in providing assistance and support to state and local authorities, in their efforts to prevent violence and resolve conflicts. As representatives of the Department of Justice, CRS mediators have the credibility and trust to work impartially with people on all sides of the conflict. CRS is not a law enforcement agency and does not impose solutions, investigate, or prosecute cases. How does CRS know if it has been successful? CRS success is best measured by the level of satisfaction among those who receive its services. Police chiefs, Governors, Mayors, school superintendents, community leaders, and others praise CRS for its effectiveness. Whenever possible, CRS contacts local representatives to review how agreements are holding, whether violence has abated, and if tensions remain low. Community Relations Service
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CRS National Headquarters U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 600 E Street, NW, Suite 6000 Washington, D.C. 20530 202/305-2935 202/305-3009 FAX CRS REGIONAL AND FIELD OFFICES New England Regional Office (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) CRS REGION 1 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 408 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 222 Boston, MA 02110 617/424-5715 617/424-5727 FAX Northeast Regional Office (NJ, NY, PR, VI) CRS REGION 2 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 26 Federal Plaza, Suite 36-118 New York, NY 10278 212/264-0700 212/264-2143 FAX Mid-Atlantic Regional Office (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV) CRS REGION 3 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service U.S. Custom House 200 2nd and Chestnut Streets, Suite 208 Philadelphia, PA 19106 215/597-2344 215/597-9148 FAX Southeast Regional Office (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) CRS REGION 4 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 75 Piedmont Avenue, NE, Suite 900 Atlanta, GA 30303 404/331-6883 404/331-4471 FAX
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FIELD OFFICE 4 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 51 SW First Avenue, Suite 624 Miami, FL 33130 305/536-5206 305/536-6778 FAX Midwest Regional Office (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) CRS REGION 5 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 230 South Dearborn Street, Room 2130 Chicago, IL 60604 312/353-4391 312/353-4390 FAX
Central Regional Office (IA, KS, MO, NE) CRS REGION 7 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 601 E. 12th Street, Suite 0802 Kansas City, MO 64106-2808 816/426-7434 816/426-7441 FAX Rocky Mountain Regional Office (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) CRS REGION 8 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 1244 Speer Blvd. Suite 650 Denver, CO 80204-3584 303/844-2973 303/844-2907 FAX
FIELD OFFICE 5 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 211 West Fort Street, Suite 1404 Detroit, MI 48226 313/226-4010 313/226-2568 FAX Southwest Regional Office (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) CRS REGION 6 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service Hardwood Center Building 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2050 Dallas, TX 75201 214/655-8175 214/655-8184 FAX
FIELD OFFICE 6 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 515 Rusk Avenue Suite 12605 Houston, TX 77002 713/718-4861 713/718-4862 FAX
www.Justice.gov/crs
Western Regional Office (AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV) CRS REGION 9 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 888 South Figueroa Street, Suite 1880 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213/894-2941 213/894-2880 FAX
FIELD OFFICE 9 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 90 Seventh Street, Suite 3-300 San Francisco, CA 94103 415/744-6565 415/744-6590 FAX Northwest Regional Office (AK, ID, OR, WA) CRS REGION 10 U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service 915 Second Avenue, Suite 1808 Seattle, WA 98174 206/220-6700 206/220-6706 FAX