Community Relations Service

The Community Relations Service (CRS) was part of the United States Department of Justice. The office was intended to act as a peacemaker "for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and disability". It was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and its mission was broadened by the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in 2009. Originally under the Department of Commerce, it was moved to the Department of Justice by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson.