Published June 5 2025
The City of Bellevue is building partnerships with community organizations and sharing information with the public to strengthen prevention and encourage reporting of hate crimes and bias incidents.
The city recently organized a panel discussion and roundtable conversations, facilitated by Dr. Marcus Johnson from the city’s Diversity Advantage Team. In the table discussions, city staff and more than 40 local nonprofits shared information about the community’s needs. A video replay of the panel is now available.
“As we have seen hate crimes and bias incidents occurring in our region and across the country, the city is committed to sharing critical information and building lasting partnerships to help build a shared community response and prevention strategies,” said Dr. Linda Whitehead, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
“Bellevue is a safe and welcoming city, but we’re not immune to crimes or bias incidents,” Police Chief Wendell Shirley said. “Our recent conversation with community partners strengthens the trust and collaboration we need to hold offenders accountable and protect the wellbeing of this city’s diverse communities.”
The panel and workshop were held at the Crossroads Community Center and featured Bellevue police officers and legal experts. In the conversations that followed, led by the Diversity Advantage Team, staff from the community organizations discussed the experiences of the people they serve and what they believe is needed to reduce barriers to reporting.
The panel discussed the definitions of hate crimes and bias incidents, as well as the importance of community members reporting incidents to the police. Hate crimes are motivated by the attacker’s perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or disability, and include physical assaults, threats that cause reasonable fear of harm or attacks that damage a victim’s property. Bias incidents are acts of prejudice that are not criminal in nature and do not involve violence, threats or property damage but are still discriminatory based on the victim’s identity.
More information, including a form for online reporting, is available at Hate Crimes and Bias-related Incidents.
For alternate formats, interpreters or reasonable accommodations, please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-7855 or email diversity@bellevuewa.gov. For complaints regarding accommodations, contact the ADA, Title VI and equal opportunity officer at 425-452-6168.