SEATTLE—A recent rash of hate crimes in Capitol Hill and other Seattle neighborhoods has led the King County prosecutor to work with community activists to launch a new anti-harassment campaign that urges potential victims to call 911 and avoid confrontation.

“It’s a lot to ask people not to engage,” said Mike Hogan, a senior deputy prosecutor who handles the department’s malicious-harassment cases, which are what this state calls hate crimes. “But we’re doing it so victims don’t end up going to Harborview” Medical Center.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg held a news conference to announce the campaign, then prosecutors and volunteers from the Gay City Health Project and the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce hung posters at businesses.

The purple and yellow posters titled “Hate Crimes Alert” urge people to stay alert to their surroundings, travel in groups and call 911 immediately if they encounter bullying or harassment.

Satterberg said his office is working with Seattle police to produce a training video that will help officers gather information after a hate crime.

Hogan said it is unclear whether incidents of malicious harassment are actually increasing or whether awareness and reporting are on the rise, but it is clear that most of the recent attacks have happened at night and the attacks are happening late at night.