US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a 30-day expedited review to determine how the Department of Justice can “deploy all the tools at its disposal in support” of the effort to prosecute hate crimes on Tuesday.

The communication came via a two-page memorandum addressed to Department employees. It is Garland’s first since the US Senate confirmed him as Attorney General on March 10.

Garland highlighted the alarming rise in hate crimes and hate incidents against members of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 145 percent in 2020. Such trends, said Garland, require “renewed energy and emphasis on investigation and prosecution, increased community outreach, and the improved collection of data critical to understanding the evolving nature and extent of hate crimes and hate incidents in all their forms.” Among other things, the review seeks to address how the Department can:

• better hold offenders accountable by prioritizing criminal investigations;
• ensure US Attorney’s Offices have specialized resources dedicated to identifying and enforcing violations of criminal and civil laws protecting against acts of hate;
• better align the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Attorney’s Offices, and the Department as a whole; and
• engage with communities across the nation to better serve the needs of groups facing acts of hate.

“The Department is committed to serving the cause of justice and protecting the safety of all our communities,” said Garland. “I look forward to working with you as we pursue and enhance our critical work to combat hate.”

Garland also emphasized the Department’s ongoing effort to “seek justice for the victims of the hate-fueled mass murders that we have seen too many times in the past several years—killings that have shaken our communities, torn at our social fabric, and undercut our most basic values.”

Acting Deputy Attorney General John Garlin will oversee the review, with the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General’s support, until new Senate-confirmed leadership can take over. The Department is awaiting the confirmations of Lisa Monaco, a domestic terrorism expert, and Vanita Gupta, a civil rights attorney.