Anne Arundel County has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to implement a new comprehensive hate crime prevention program.

County Executive Steuart Pittman began work on the Hate Bias Forum in 2020, after learning that Anne Arundel led the state in reported hate crimes.

Anne Arundel was awarded an amount that was three times the initial grant request due to the strength of its application, making it the only county entity in Maryland to receive the grant in this cycle, according to a county news release.

The county had 78 reported hate bias incidents in 2018, followed by Baltimore County with 76 incidents, according to the state’s 2018 Hate Bias Report. The 21122 ZIP code, in northern Anne Arundel County, appeared most often at 22 times.

In 2018, a total of 375 hate bias incidents were reported by Maryland law enforcement agencies. Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Howard counties made up 76.9% of all hate bias reporting in 2018.

“This project is a continuation of work that we began at our Hate Bias Forum in early 2020 after learning that our county led the state in reported hate bias incidents,” Pittman said in a statement.

The county announced last month that it had hired Nicola “Dr. Nikki” Smith-Kea to lead the county’s implementation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Training and Technical Assistance Program, which is named for two hate crime victims.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Nikki on board to help us move this work to the next level,” Pittman said.

Smith-Kea recently worked with the Philadelphia Police Department to improve the agency’s engagement with the community, develop more internal accountability and focus on officer safety and wellness.

“I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work across a number of public safety spaces within the United States,” Smith-Kea said in a statement. “But I’ve also been very intentional about giving back to where I live — giving back to Anne Arundel County. So, I am incredibly excited and extremely proud to serve as the Senior Project Manager for the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Program.”

Smith-Kea, a Black immigrant, said she has worked in policing, community engagement, academia and policy advancement and has practical knowledge and experience. She has also worked in philanthropy, with connections to local, state and federal government.

“I have a unique set of skills and expertise that will serve this position well, helping to achieve the goal and objectives of this program that has been so skillfully set forth by the County Executive’s Office,” Smith said. “At the end of this project, I will be a part of a team — the Office of Equity and Human Rights — that is focused on improving access and inclusion in all of Anne Arundel County.”

Carl Snowden, who leads the Caucus of African American Leaders of Anne Arundel County, said the county has seen many hate crime incidents over the years.

The county had 57 reported hate bias incidents in 2022 and 35 in 2023, according to the Anne Arundel County Hate Bias Incident Dashboard.

Snowden said incidents involving people of color made up most hate crimes in the past, but now they often include those involving members of the LGBTQ community.

He believes that the new hate crime prevention program is a positive step.

“I think one of the things that will be helpful is just getting people to define what a hate crime is and what it is not,” Snowden said.

The county’s Hate Crime Prevention Program aims to develop a strategy for preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes, while providing support to victims. The program will also include leadership training on hate crime investigation, expanding police community outreach staff, and acquiring advanced surveillance equipment for nighttime incidents, according to the news release.