WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITI) -- The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday, August 2nd it will revise its Hate Crime Incident Report form to collect data on hate crimes committed against Sikhs and several other groups. Those include Hindu, Arab, Buddhist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness and Orthodox Christians.
The announcement coincides with events marking the one-year anniversary of the shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.
U.S. Attorney James Santelle said the Oak Creek incident was instrumental in the decision.
"Before we were very reactive -- things would happen and we would show up then and try to figure out what happened as we did, regretably in this situation," said Santelle. "It was also very important for this community to know in the wake of the shooting itself that this was a hate crime. It was very important to hear those words."
Harpreet Saini, who lost his mother in the shooting, spoke before a Senate Committee in September 2012. Saini plead with the committee to include Sikhs into their own category when tracking hate crimes.
"At least give our mother the dignity of being a statistic in the book," said Saini.
The Saini's say the ruling isn't just a victory for the Sikh community, but for the whole nation.
"Pretty sure she's proud of us now. I'm pretty sure she's smiling at me now -- me and my brother," said Saini.
Santelle says moving forward the Department of Justice will be able to identify patterns if a next incident were to occur.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Justice has secured a $512,730 Anti-terrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant from the Office of Justice Programs' Office for Victims of Crime. The money will assist the victims of the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.
The Wisconsin DOJ worked closely with Oak Creek officials and victim service providers immediately after the shooting and during the months that followed to track expenses and apply for the AEAP money. The DOJ will use the grant money to pay for the following costs related to the Sikh Temple attack:
The AEAP grant program was created in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing to assist jurisdictions in the aftermath of acts of terrorism or mass violence.