Colorado Coalition Against Hate To Work With Law Enforcement On Recognizing Hate Crimes

DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser is working with a group of community partners to form the "Colorado Coalition Against Hate." They will focus on training law enforcement to better recognize and prosecute hate crimes.

The coalition will also work to improve reporting by both police and victims.

Data collected will be used to better support targeted groups.

The announcement about the coalition comes less than a week after the FBI's annual hate crime report recorded a 16% increase in hate crimes between 2017 and 2018 in Colorado.

"We will not tolerate the targeting of individuals with hate simply because of who they are or how they pray," said Weiser, in a statement. "The Attorney General's Office will do all it can to ensure law enforcement agencies are responding effectively to an increase in hate incidents and crimes in Colorado."