F: Civil Rights
Prevent the violation of federal civil rights as guaranteed by the U.S Constitution. Other Information:
Situation: Federal criminal civil rights statutes protect individuals from hate crimes which interfere with protected activities
such as voting, use of public accommodations, and access to housing. World and national events trigger periods when specific
groups become targets of increased levels of hate crimes. For example, the 9/11 atrocity and its aftermath made the Arab,
Muslim, and Sikh communities in the United States especially vulnerable to a wide range of hate crimes. Other groups that
have been, and continue to be targeted are the African-American and Jewish communities because of their clear racial, ethnic,
or religious identities. In 2002, nearly 7,500 hate crimes incidents were reported to U.S. law enforcement agencies; nearly
one-half were based on race, and the remainder primarily on ethnicity or national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or
disability. These cases will dramatically increase if another international terrorist attack against the United States occurs.
Civil rights violations under “Color of Law” occur when those acting under the authority of local, state, or federal laws
deprive an individual of rights, privileges, or immunities protected by the U.S. Constitution. The FBI has investigative responsibility
for these violations and conducts approximately 1,400 preliminary investigations annually, including those involving allegations
against members of state and local law enforcement and non-Department of Justice (DOJ) agencies. It is anticipated that over
the next five years, increasing numbers of law enforcement officers will be hired. Although the Law Enforcement Community
is overwhelmingly comprised of dedicated professionals, there remains a very small percentage that will violate the Color
of Law statutes. As the number of law enforcement personnel increases, so will the number of these violations. The Involuntary
Servitude and Slavery Act also protects individual civil rights and addresses a worldwide crime problem. According to the
Department of State, between 18,000 and 20,000 persons, many women and children, are trafficked into the United States each
year for involuntary servitude. The FBI investigates violations of the Act, and alarmingly, the number of cases grew over
2,000 percent from 1996 to 2003. The number of humans smuggled into the United States for this purpose will continue to increase
over the next five years, and so will the opportunity for criminal enterprises to exploit these individuals. The Freedom of
Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act protects individuals seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health care services from
force or physical obstruction. Nationwide incidents related to abortion clinics include murder, death threats, assault, arson,
burglary, harassing telephone calls, hate mail, and other acts of intimidation. The FBI aggressively investigates violations
of this statute, which often have links to domestic terrorists who violently oppose abortion-related services. Over the next
five years, the FBI will likely need to enhance its capacity to investigate crimes involving violation of federal criminal
civil rights statutes — laws designed to protect the invaluable civil rights of all persons within the country’s territories.
Objective(s):
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