Turn to Tara and News 12 are partnering with Documenting Hate, a collaborative journalism project led by nonprofit investigative newsroom ProPublica, to track and report on hate crimes around the country.

The data already gathered on hate crimes is startling, especially when it comes to anti-Semitic incidents. There were nearly 300 incidents in New York last year. That’s the highest anywhere in the nation and twice the amount from the year before.

Authorities have had a difficult time tackling this trend because there is no official database to help them identify where most of the crimes are happening.

The goal of the initiative is to take a rigorous, first-of-its-kind look at hate crimes across New York and America, combining data analysis, social media news gathering and ambitious investigative storytelling on everything from hate-inspired murders to anti-Semitic graffiti and racist online trolling.

In order for this project to be a success, people across the Hudson Valley need to speak out.  Viewers can head here or email.