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Ten months after six worshippers died in the gurdwara shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will begin formally tracking hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus and Arabs.

An FBI advisory board meeting in Portsmouth, Virginia, voted on Wednesday
to expand standard hate-crime incident reports used by police departments across the US to include crimes motivated by bias against the two religious groups as well as Arabs.

The changes, which go into effect by 2015, follow years of pressure from civil rights groups and lawmakers.

Sikh, Hindu and Arab advocates have praised the FBI decision, saying it would avoid underreporting of hate crimes and increase awareness among law enforcement personnel of their religions and cultures.

"The new changes will strengthen diagnostic and deterrence efforts; increase awareness about Sikhs among law enforcement officials nationwide; and encourage Sikhs to begin reporting hate crimes to local, state, and federal authorities," said Rajdeep Singh, director of Law and Policy for the Sikh Coalition.

"While this is a monumental step forward, our work cannot end here," said Democrat representative Joe Crowley who had, in April 2012, led a signature campaign that saw 93 members of Congress sign a letter urging the FBI to update the Hate Crime Incident Report Form to include crimes committed against Sikh-Americans.

After the ruling, Crowley, along with the lone Indian American House member Ami Bera, the first Hindu-American legislator Tulsi Gabbard and five other lawmakers, circulated a letter to FBI director Robert Mueller among their House colleagues urging the FBI to urgently enact the Board's recommendation.

According to Sikh Coalition surveys in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 10% of Sikh adults claim they have experienced physical violence or property damage because of their religion.

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SALDEF Applauds FBI Decision to Track Hate Crimes Against Sikhs

Washington D.C. – June 6, 2013: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, applauds the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Advisory Policy Board (APB) for their decision to approve the recommendation of tracking and reporting hate crimes committed against Sikhs, Arabs and Hindus.

“We welcome this decision from the APB to separately track and report hate crimes against the Sikh, Arab and Hindu American communities,” said SALDEF Executive Director Jasjit Singh. “Our communities have disproportionately faced senseless violence motivated by hate in recent years. We look forward to continuing our work with the FBI and to provide them with the resources and training necessary to ensure accurate reporting of hate crimes committed against Sikhs."

SALDEF first approached the FBI in 2010 requesting the inclusion of Sikhs in their hate crime reporting form and continued advocating for this change in meetings with congressional leaders and local and federal law enforcement leaders, through our work in civil rights coalitions, and with FBI Director Mueller himself.

The new FBI hate crime reporting form incorporating Sikh, Arab and Hindu categories will be implemented in 2015. SALDEF will work with the FBI to ensure effective implementation of these recommendations and also continue to offer services such as cultural competency training through its Law Enforcement Partnership Program (LEPP) to ensure law enforcement officers are able to effectively utilize the updated form.

SALDEF would like to recognize the support of the Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman David Valado and the entire American Sikh Congressional Caucus, the tireless efforts and leadership of our colleagues at the Sikh Coalition, Anti-Discrimination League (ADL), Groundswell and South Asians Americans Leading Together (SAALT), for working to get this policy change completed.