District Attorney

Bias and Hate Motivated Crimes

Bias and Hate Crime Phone Number: 970-498-7150

The Bias and Hate Crime Hotline is monitored by an Investigator with the District Attorney's Office. The hotline is not an emergency number, and while messages are checked frequently, the number is not answered. If you need immediate assistance, please call 911.

Additionally, these reports are not anonymous; if a crime has occurred and charges are brought, any information will be shared with Law Enforcement.

Why was this hotline created? 

In 2025, the District Attorney’s Office received questions from concerned community members about how best to report bias-motivated crimes, how to ensure their safety while reporting, and how our office could support those investigations and victims. 

This began a series of conversations with a variety of community stakeholders about what bias-motivated incidents looked like in their communities, what their current barriers to reporting were, and how to best address these concerns to continue to build a safe community for everyone. 

The result of those conversations was to create an additional, trusted outlet to report bias-motivated crime, given the fears that can often be associated with those incidents. Our new hotline will be one piece, in a larger network of community and law enforcement resources, designed to reduce barriers to reporting and seek justice for victims of bias-motivated crime. 

Related Websites and Resources:

 

District Attorney's Bias and Hate Crimes Hotline

Colorado Definition of a Bias-Motivated Crime

A crime that is motivated, in whole or in part, by bias against race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity. While Colorado law uses the term bias-motivated, the term is generally interchangeable with hate crime. 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

When should I call? 

You should call if you would like to have another option for reporting a potential bias-motivated crime, and the concern is not an emergency. Our goal is to reduce barriers in reporting bias-motivated and hate crimes in our community. We will work in collaboration with law enforcement if a crime has occurred. Reporting directly to your local law enforcement agency is always an option. If you are experiencing a crime in progress or are in danger, please call 911.

Please note that the hotline messages will not be monitored on the weekends. 

What doesn't qualify?

Other types of discrimination (housing, employment, etc.), which are not criminal in nature, cannot be handled by our office.

For resources on how to report discrimination, please visit:

Housing

Employment

Public Accommodations 

Why is it important to file a report?

It is critical to report hate crimes to protect victims and vulnerable communities. Our community wants to send a clear message that we will not tolerate hate. Reporting hate crimes allows allocation of resources toward the prevention of bias and hate, and allows the opportunity to investigate and prosecute those responsible. 

It is just as important to report a hate incident as it is to report a hate crime. In some cases, a hate incident will not rise to the level of a crime. Understanding that distinction is one of the ways our office will help with your report. Documenting all incidents can help our community and law enforcement fully understand the scope of the problem and how to best address it.

How will my information be used? 

When you call to leave a description of a potential crime, you will need to provide your name and contact information for any follow-up from our office or from law enforcement.

The District Attorney’s Office does NOT ask for or track any information regarding immigration status because our mission is to protect all victims of crime, regardless of citizenship. Protecting all victims makes our entire community safer. 

If we believe a crime may have occurred, we will coordinate with our law enforcement partners to complete the investigation. The goal of this hotline is to reduce barriers to reporting while working within the current systems for investigating and prosecuting crimes in our community.

If you have questions or concerns about how we are utilizing this information, please contact us.

 

Colorado Bias-Motivated and Hate Crime Statutes: 

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A person commits a bias-motivated crime if, with the intent to intimidate or harass another person, in whole or in part, because of that person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity, the person:

(a) Knowingly causes bodily injury to another person.

(b) By words or conduct, knowingly places another person in fear of imminent lawless action directed at that person or that person’s property, and such words or conduct are likely to produce bodily injury to that person or damage to that person’s property.

(c) Knowingly causes damage to or destruction of the property of another person.

(1) A person commits harassment if, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person, he or she:

(a) Strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise touches a person or subjects him to physical contact; or

(b) In a public place directs obscene language or makes obscene gesture to or at another person; or

(c) Follows a person in or about a public place; or

(d) Repealed

(e) Directly or indirectly initiates communication with a person or directs language toward another person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, telephone network, data network, text message, instant message, computer, computer network, computer system, or other interactive electronic medium in a manner intended to harass or threaten bodily injury or property damage, or makes any comment, request, suggestion, or proposal by telephone, computer, computer network, computer system, or other interactive electronic medium that is obscene; or

(f) Makes a telephone call or causes a telephone to ring repeatedly, whether or not a conversation ensues, with no purpose of legitimate conversation; or

(g) Makes repeated communications at inconvenient hours that invade the privacy of another and interfere in the use and enjoyment of another’s home or private residence or other private property; or

(h) Repeatedly insults, taunts, challenges, or makes communications in offensively coarse language to, another in a manner likely to provoke a violent or disorderly response.

2) (a) A person who violates subsection (1)(a) or (1)(c) of this section or violates any provision of subsection (1) of this section with the intent to intimidate or harass another person, in whole or in part, because of that person’s actual or perceived race; color; religion; ancestry; national origin; physical or mental disability, as defined in section 18-9-121 (5)(a); sexual orientation, as defined in section 18-9-121 (5)(b); or transgender identity commits a class 1 misdemeanor.
(b) A person who violates subsection (1)(e), (1)(f), (1)(g), or (1)(h) of this section commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(c) A person who violates subsection (1)(b) of this section commits a petty offense.


List of police departments in Larimer and Jackson Counties with their non-emergency contact numbers: