The US attorney’s office in Boston announced Tuesday the formation of a civil rights unit that will investigate and address civil rights violations at local police departments and other government and community agencies.

US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said the unit will combine the efforts of attorneys already working on civil rights cases to build a systemic approach using criminal sanctions and non-criminal remedies to combat hate crimes and discrimination. The unit, part of a growing nationwide movement to address civil rights abuses, will allow her office to be more proactive, Ortiz said.

The announcement was welcomed by members of immigrant and religious groups and other community representatives.

“I think it’s a very positive step, that the institutionalization of civil rights protection is happening in one of our core, critical agencies,’’ said Yusufi Vali, executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. “So that’s a positive step, particularly in these times where a number of minorities — Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Muslims — are being targeted with irresponsible rhetoric.’’

He added, however, that it will be critical for officials to follow through with enforcement.

“The proof is in the pudding,’’ he said.

Ortiz’s announcement was made during a roundtable discussion at the federal courthouse in South Boston with religious and other community members such as Vali, police officials, and Vanita Gupta, the top prosecutor in the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Gupta’s office recently sued the city of Ferguson, Mo., seeking to force officials there to reform the police department and courts.

“Right now, there is a real focus, across the country, on civil rights issues,’’ Gupta said.

Ortiz said lawyers in her office have sometimes sought to address allegations of civil rights violations by bringing criminal charges. Two years ago, for instance, her office prosecuted a Plymouth police officer accused of assaulting a defendant and then trying to cover it up.

Ortiz said her office has also sought to identify discriminatory practices in housing and has worked to protect the rights of the disabled and war veterans.

Ortiz said the new division will allow her office to be more proactive and raise awareness by educating organizations about their responsibilities under civil rights laws. Gupta added that the division will allow for an “institutional’’ approach to violations.

“It’s going to demonstrate the long-term interests the office has in engaging in these issues,’’ Gupta said.

Jennifer Serafyn, an assistant US attorney in Boston who has worked on civil rights cases, was named chief of the unit.

Ortiz and Gupta met with community members for more than an hour to discuss the new division and police-community relations.

Gupta said she wanted to engage police, community members, and religious groups in a conversation. She noted that in Ferguson “the levels of distrust in that community long predated’’ the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, a black man, by a white police officer, which led to protests and civil unrest.

Concerns raised by those at the roundtable included immigration issues and worries of a backlash against Muslims after terrorist attacks.

“These are very complex problems, these aren’t problems that are easily boiled down,’’ Gupta said. “But I do think there are some common themes in that everyone wants to live in safe communities.’’

Those who attended the roundtable discussion included Jeffrey L. Brown of Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston, a leading voice in Boston’s black community, and representatives from Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office. Police officials from Boston, Chelsea, and Cambridge as well as from the FBI also attended.

Chelsea’s police chief, Brian Kyes, said later that the civil rights unit would build on existing community outreach efforts.

“I think we ended the meeting saying we wanted to have further conversations with a lot of people in that room, on such an important topic, and that’s critically important,’’ said Kyes, whose department has worked to improve relations with immigrants in Chelsea.

“All of us have to learn from each other,’’ he said. “You’re only as good as your last interaction with your community.’’

Milton J. Valencia can be reached at milton.valencia@globe.com.