The Portland Division of the FBI is joining the agency's nationwide efforts to increase awareness about hate crimes and encourage reporting of hate crimes with advertising campaigns across Oregon.
The campaign, which began November 6th, includes billboards in Medford, Eugene and Corvallis as well as static and digital displays reaching thousands of passengers daily at the Portland International Airport.
Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI's civil rights program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities. The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency for criminal violations of federal civil rights and works closely with local, state, tribal and other federal law enforcement partners in many of these cases -- even when federal charges are not pursued.
The Oregon effort ties with a national FBI awareness campaign that hopes to drive education efforts and increase reporting. It states, "Protecting Our Communities Together: Report Hate Crimes."
The billboard locations in Medford are Bullock Road, Table Rock Road, Bank Road and Lawnsdale Road.
Anyone who has information about or believes they are a victim of a federal hate crime should contact the FBI by phone at 1-(800)-CALL-FBI or online at "tips.fbi.gov."
