What Happens on the Hotline?

Within this Section

What happens when I call the Bias Response Hotline or make a report online?

When a person calls the Bias Response Hotline, they may get a live answer from a hotline advocate, or they may reach our voicemail if it’s after hours or if our advocates are on other calls.

Hotline Voicemail

If you reach our voicemail, you may choose what information to share with us.  You can include:

  • Your name
  • Your phone number, including area code
  • Your location (town or county is fine)
  • A description of the bias you experienced or witnessed
  • Why you believe you were targeted (protected class information, identity or perceived identity markers, etc.)
  • If you’ve reported the bias to law enforcement or another agency already
  • If you’re looking for support or options about next steps, or both
  • What times it’s best to reach you (e.g.- it’s best to call me Tuesdays after 1pm)

If you request a call back, a Bias Response Hotline advocate will call you back as soon as possible, sometimes the following business day.

Live Hotline Advocate

Hotline advocates are trauma-informed, trained in crisis intervention, and provide bias response advocacy. You may choose what information to share with us on the hotline.  A live hotline advocate will generally follow this process in our interaction with you:

Welcome:  The hotline advocate will share their first name.

Interpreter services:  The hotline advocate will inquire if you need or if you would like an interpreter.  We have access to interpreters in over 240 languages via Language Link.

Accessibility needs:  The hotline advocate will inquire if you have any accessibility accommodation requests so we can best meet your needs.

Informed consent:  The hotline advocate will review our informed consent information and what we do at the hotline.*

  • We are mandatory reporters pursuant to ORS 419B.010 », ORS 124.060 », ORS 430.735 », and ORS 441.630 ». If you share information about child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a disabled individual or vulnerable adult, that you have experienced or that you have perpetrated, we are required to make a report with any and all information we know to the Statewide Mandatory Report Abuse Hotline.
  • We collect data on the hotline. ORS 147.380 (5) » requires that we share de-identified data with the Criminal Justice Commission. We do not share your name, phone number, email address, physical address, or any other details that could identify you, any witnesses, law enforcement involved, or even the perpetrator pursuant to ORS 147.380 (6) », unless compelled/required by a court order.  You may request that the hotline not collect data about your report; we will still provide you support and referral services on the hotline.
  • We will ask you if you have an attorney representing you. If your attorney represents you regarding the bias incident you are reporting, we will refer you to consult with your attorney for legal advice.  Hotline advocates are prohibited from interfering with attorney-client relationships pursuant to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct » and ORS 40.225 », and will be required either to terminate calls if you have an attorney or request permission from your attorney to continue to speak with you.
  • The Bias Response Hotline is a victim support and information and referral hotline. We do not have the legal authority to open an investigation or case, prosecute or sanction a bias perpetrator, or otherwise initiate any litigation regarding bias incidents or bias crimes.  We can refer and connect victims and witnesses to existing community and government resources (including law enforcement) upon request, both for ongoing support as well as for possible investigation.

You can share what happened:  The advocate will listen, and you can share as much or as little information about the bias you experienced or witnessed; it’s your choice.  You do not have to share information like your name, your location, or your protected class information, but the advocate may ask you if it helps us respond better to you on the hotline or to connect you with some potential resources and/or support options in your community.  It is your choice if you want to share this information with us or not.

Support:  The advocate will ask if you are interested in ongoing support options with one or several of our many community partner agencies.

Resources:  The advocate will ask if you are interested in options for next steps such as investigation by an existing governmental program or law enforcement, where relevant.

Safety:  The advocate will ask you about safety, and work with you to brainstorm options for you to make a plan for your physical and emotional safety.

Permission before sharing:  The advocate will ask for your permission before sharing any of your information with another person, agency, community, system, government, or otherwise.  Mandatory reporting obligations are an exception.

Feedback:  The advocate may ask if you feel like you know more about resources, if we’ve helped you to make informed choices, if you have new ideas about staying safe, if you better understand law enforcement, and/or if you feel you’ve been treated with dignity and respect on the call today.

Follow-up:  The advocate may ask about follow-up to see if we can check in with you in a few days/next week/at a later date. You can choose if you want a follow-up call from the hotline.

Making a Report Online

Our Bias Response Online Reporting Web Portal » form is readily available in 9 languages (by using the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the website): English, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Somali, and Arabic.**

If you choose to report online through our web portal, you will be asked for the following information:

  • Targeted person’s protected class
  • The age range of the targeted person
  • An estimated date of the bias
  • A brief description of the bias
  • If the bias victim knew or knows the bias perpetrator
  • City where the bias occurred
  • County, waterway, or reservation where the bias occurred
  • Setting of the incident (at home, on public transportation, at school, etc.)
  • If you’ve reported to law enforcement
  • If you would like a call back from the Bias Response Hotline
  • If you would like a referral to law enforcement
  • If you would like a referral to a community partner agency
  • Who the reporter (the person filling out the form) is in relation to the bias (victim, witness, bystander, etc.)
  • Your name, contact information, language, pronouns, and accessibility needs (optional)

You can choose if you want the Bias Response Hotline to contact you back.

You can request that a copy of your completed form be emailed to you by clicking “Send me a copy of these answers via email” at the bottom of the page.

**You can request for the online reporting web portal form to be translated into any additional language by calling 1-844-924-2427 or emailing us (this email account is only for translation requests; bias reports submitted to this account will not be answered).

Making a Report via Chat

In October 2023, we opened our Chat feature, so you can chat online with a live advocate. Advocates are available to chat Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm, unless all our advocates are talking or chatting with another person.  Click on our “Advocates are Online” widget, which looks like this:

at the bottom right corner of your screen.

The Chat feature starts with an automated process that includes the following:

Welcome and Language Access:  We’ll let you know what languages we’re available to chat with you in. Generally, advocates are available to chat live in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Tagalog. If you need any other language, please call the Hotline at 1-844-924-BIAS (2427).

Hate/Bias or Sanctuary? We’ll ask if you’d like to report a hate/bias crime, bias incident (what’s the difference?), or a violation of Oregon’s sanctuary laws.  If you don’t know, that’s ok!  Click “I’m not sure which” and we’ll still connect you with a live advocate.

Informed consent:  We’ll review our informed consent process, described above.

Connecting with a Live Advocate:  We’ll connect you with a live advocate, who will follow the Hotline process described above, including–

  • You can share what happened
  • Support
  • Resources
  • Safety
  • Permission before sharing
  • Feedback
  • Follow-up

No Advocates Available? We’re so sorry, sometimes the Hotline and Chat are very busy. If all our advocates are talking or chatting with another person, we’ll let you know.  If you don’t reach a live advocate, please leave us your phone number, and we’ll be sure to call you back.

 

 

*Information and Referral

The Oregon Department of Justice Bias Response Hotline is a reporting and referral service designed to support bias victims. We are not able to investigate any reports submitted via the hotline or web portal. Reports submitted here may not receive an immediate response and will not result in an investigation.

For emergency assistance, dial 911.

If you believe a crime has occurred and want it investigated, contact your local law enforcement agency.

Represented callers

We are not able to give any legal advice to anyone reporting a bias incident.

If the hotline operator is an attorney, no attorney-client privilege is created through a report or information sharing.

If you have an attorney representing you regarding the bias incident you are reporting, please consult with your attorney for legal advice. The hotline operators are prohibited from interfering with attorney-client relationships pursuant to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct » and ORS 40.225 », and will be required to terminate calls from represented callers.

Mandatory reporting

Information shared with hotline operators or via the web portal that includes information about child abuse, elder abuse, abuse of a vulnerable adult, or danger to a child (under 18), elder (over 65), or vulnerable adult (someone with a mental illness, a developmental disability, or physical disability), is subject to Oregon’s mandatory reporting laws. Information including your name, phone number, email address, location, nature of the danger/abuse, and any other identifying information will be reported to the Statewide Abuse Reporting Hotline, Oregon Department of Human Services, and/or Oregon Adult Protective Services pursuant to ORS 419B.010 », ORS 124.060 », ORS 430.735 », and ORS 441.630 ».

How your data is stored and protected

Information submitted via the hotline or web portal regarding the character, location, and impacted protected class of any bias crime or bias incident will be shared with the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) pursuant to Oregon Laws 2019, chapter 553, section 8 ». The CJC will share results of their data analysis from this information to the Governor, the Legislative Assembly, the Attorney General, the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Department of State Police, and the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Personal identifying information will be redacted from any reports shared with CJC pursuant to Oregon Laws 2019, chapter 553, section 8 ».

De-identified, anonymous data may be subject to public record requests.

Data, including identifying information, may be released if required by court order.

By submitting information via the hotline or the web portal, you consent to the collection and processing of the relevant data as described above.