Community Relations Service Launches New Spanish-Language Site

 June 21, 2021

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service (CRS) launched a Spanish-language version of its website: justice.gov/crs-espanol. The site provides information in Spanish on the agency’s work and resources for community leaders, government officials, law enforcement, educational organizations, and other stakeholders to understand the services CRS offers.

CRS serves as a resource for communities in conflict by mediating disputes and enhancing community capacity to independently prevent and resolve conflicts. CRS is the only federal agency dedicated to working with community groups to resolve community conflicts and prevent and respond to alleged hate crimes arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

More than 500 anti-Hispanic or anti-Latino hate crimes were reported in 2019, according to the FBI, a 23% increase since 2017.

“This Spanish-language version of CRS’s website will provide another way for us to connect with community members and provide needed services,” said Gerri Ratliff, Acting Director of CRS. “Tensions, bias incidents, and hate crimes continue to be a concern for Hispanic and Latino communities. Providing stakeholders with information about CRS services in their preferred language is a crucial step in making our work supporting these communities effective.”

The Spanish-language version of the website includes information about CRS, its services, and how to contact each of its offices serving all 50 states and U.S. territories.

The website is available at justice.gov/crs-espanol.