Lessons from a Hate Crime Detective

Lessons from a Hate Crime Detective (film, 7:25) is a film about Detective Ellen Vest of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department sharing her lessons learned with incoming police cadets, demonstrating how to identify, investigate, and address hate crimes before they escalate to violence. Follow Vest as she visits Sylvester, an African-American hate crime victim now permanently brain damaged after a vicious attack by a known skinhead, and as Vest shares the evidence she gathered to convict Sylvester’s assailant of a hate crime. Underscoring that hate crimes are “message crimes” that impact entire communities, Vest encourages officers to reach out to victims and their communities as important allies in hate crime prevention. This film has associated guides: Lessons from a Hate Crime Detective: A guide for community screenings, https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P336. Lessons from a Hate Crime Detective: A guide for law enforcement, https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-P313.