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pick up on discrimination. He encouraged the HRC to go to KidSports and other youth-focused <br />programs to reinforce how people should be treated. Mayor Torrey said there had been <br />instances where youth had been brought to the administration's notice for racial harassment; if <br />the student was corrected so he or she did not do so in the future, they should be recognized for <br />that and it should not be assumed that they would offend again. He said that the same was true <br />for those coming out of prison. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor noted her concurrence with Mayor Torrey's remarks. She also agreed with Mr. Pap8 <br />that punishment does not always address the problem; helping people to understand each other <br />better was a better approach. She asked if crimes against women were considered hate crimes. <br />Mr. Rikhoff said that crimes against women were being increasingly recognized as hate crimes, <br />although not in Oregon. Those crimes were being tracked. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked which groups were least likely to report hate crimes. Mr. Rikhoff said those <br />hate crimes involving sexual orientation were among those least likely to be reported, and there <br />were often members of the Asian and Latino community who were reluctant to report. He said <br />that crimes against young people were the largest category of nonreported crimes, and those <br />individuals cut across all genders and races. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said that people often become members of hate groups in prison and she questioned <br />whether it was positive to put offenders in jail. Chief Hill agreed that prejudices were often <br />reinforced by others in jail, but pointed out that once in jail, a person was unable to offend. He <br />did not think jail was the preferable option in all cases but emphasized the importance of having <br />a sanction for individuals committing hate crimes. Chief Hill noted that when people notorious for <br />committing such crimes leave the prison system, staff contacts them to let them know the City <br />was aware they were out of prison and that their former activities would not be tolerated. He said <br />that it was difficult to change the views of an adult, and agreed with Mayor Torrey that it was the <br />best approach to target young children who have not formed prejudices. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor thought the City's priorities were "right on" in this issue, and that staff and the HRC <br />were doing excellent work. He said that he was willing to be a leader and speak out against hate <br />crimes. He requested staff and the commission's assistance in doing so, and thanked the <br />commission for its work. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr called for a consistent, proactive, leveraged approach to the issues of hate crimes to <br />have the most effect. He agreed with Mayor Torrey's remarks about the need to work with young <br />children before prejudices were formed. He also commended the commission and staff for their <br />considerable work in addressing human rights issues. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr asked Sergeant Tilby if Eugene had a transitory population of skinheads. Sergeant Tilby <br />said that it was possible. He clarified that when he referred to skinheads in Eugene he had been <br />talking about racial skinheads. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr asked Mr. Rikhoff to thank the volunteers of the Human Rights Support System on his <br />behalf. <br /> <br />Mr. Rikhoff said that the Human Rights Program was a partner in responding to the issue rather <br />than a leader. He gave credit to other individuals and organizations in the field of human rights <br />for their leadership, and noted that many of those individuals were present at the meeting. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 24, 2000 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />