Hate crime victims can use new free web application to get help
A screenshot of hatecrimehelp.com from CuroLegal.
CuroLegal has launched a free web application that helps victims and witnesses of hate crimes find help.
Hatecrimehelp.com was built in collaboration with Cisco Systems and the American Bar Association’s Center for Innovation, according to a press release.
Someone who believes they are the victim of a hate crime answers several questions, including the type of incident experienced and the location, even if it happens online. Based on the answers, the app generates information on how to contact local law enforcement and other government resources and nonprofits that may offer help. The app also offers comparisons between state and federal hate crime laws.
“In light of the increased reports of hate crimes in this country in recent months, our goal is to provide clarity on the law and available resources, and to appropriately set expectations for what help is available from those resources,” Nicole Bradick, CuroLegal’s chief strategy officer, said in a press release.
The application was inspired at a March design event at Suffolk University Law School, where the theme was responding to hate crimes through technology.
“At that event, we were able to do some rapid discovery and learning from all of the players that were assembled, and sketched out the critical path for the application,” Bradick said in an email. “The actual site design and development came from our team after the event.”
