Our Mission
The mission of the Community Relations Service (CRS) is to help local communities address community conflicts and tensions arising from disputes, disagreements, or difficulties over race, color, and national origin. CRS also helps communities develop strategies to prevent and respond to violent hate crimes on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or disability. CRS is a conflict resolution agency that provides mediation, facilitation, training, and consulting services to help communities enhance their ability to independently prevent and resolve future conflicts. CRS uses conflict resolution strategies and does not investigate, prosecute, impose solutions, assign blame, or assess fault. CRS is required by law to conduct its activities in confidence and without publicity and is prohibited from disclosing confidential information about cases in which the Agency has provided services.
CRS Services
How We Help Communities
CRS provides confidential mediation, facilitation, training, and consulting services to help communities enhance their ability to alleviate, solve, and respond to future conflicts more effectively. CRS also works with police chiefs, mayors, school administrators, other local and state authorities, community-based organizations, and civil and human rights groups. CRS is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice that does not take sides in a dispute, and it does not investigate, prosecute, impose solutions, assign blame, or assess fault. CRS represents the Department of Justice in one of its most important missions-providing assistance and support to help state and local governments prevent violence, resolve destructive conflicts, and promote public safety. Since 1964, the Community Relations Service has helped local communities address community conflicts and tensions arising from differences in race, color, and national origin. This jurisdictional made was granted to CRS under Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since 2009, CRS has also helped communities develop strategies to prevent and respond to violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. This jurisdictional mandate was legislatively granted to CRS under the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.