Unit 9

Origin of hate crimes stems from human nature itself Intermingling of diverse peoples in most societies have resulted in hate crimes toward one group or another Hate crimes are local, regional, national, and global in scope

Unprecedented upward spiral of crimes motivated by hate began in the 1990s Increasing diversity has led to intergroup conflict globally Ethnic “hot spots” found throughout the world Widespread migration and cultural intermixing resulted fuel conflicts globally

Hate Crime The federal definition of hate crime addresses civil rights violation under Title 18 U.S.C. Section 45. Although state definitions vary, in general a hate crime is considered to be: – a criminal act or attempted act, – against a person, institution, or property, – that is motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s bias again a (1) race, (2) color, (3) religion, (4) gender, (5) ethnic/national origin group, (6) disability status, or (7) sexual orientation group. Source: Title 18 U.S.C. Section 45

Hate Incident Involves behaviors that, though motivated by bias against a victim’s race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation, are not criminal acts. – Hostile or hateful speech, or other disrespectful or discriminatory behavior may be motivated by bias but is not illegal – Incidents become crimes only when they directly incite perpetrators to commit violence against persons or property, or if they place a potential victim in reasonable fear of physical injury Source: International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1999

“The Prejudice Institute use the term ethnoviolence instead of hate crime to describe an act or an attempted act that is motivated by group prejudice and intended to cause physical or psychological injury. The organization indicates that these violent acts included intimidation, harassment, group insults, property defacement or destruction, and physical attacks. The targets of these acts involve persons identified because of their race or skin color, gender, nationality or national origin, religion, other physical or social characteristic of groups such as sexual orientation.” —Ethnoviolence Fact Sheet, 2004 Source: Prejudice Institute

Origin of hate crimes stems from human nature itself To hate means to dislike passionately or intensely People can be culturally conditioned to hate those who are different from them because of their places of origin, looks, beliefs, or preferences Not all crimes motivated by prejudice or bias involve hate

Victim of religious hate crimes Semitic groups include Jews and Arabs, but the term “anti-Semitism” almost always is synonymous with anti-Jewish European anti-Semitism had religious origins Middle East war and terrorist attacks Anti-Israel attitudes are sometimes expressed as anti- Zionist and anti-Jewish sentiments around the world

1.Investigate information on hate crime 2.Alert Jewish leaders when other groups are victimized by hate crimes 3.Be aware of groups that distribute hate literature 4.Conduct meetings for cooperation 5.Be familiar with Jewish holidays 6.Establish resource contacts for information

16 percent of all reported hate crimes (fourth highest category) according to FBI 2000 through 2004 study Specific motivation for sexual orientation bias offenses from 2000 through 2004 shows: Anti-male homosexual: 61 to 69 percent Anti-homosexual in general: 13 to 14 percent Anti-female homosexual: average was 14 percent

Anti-LGBT murders are often easily distinguished because of the level of brutality involved LGBT murder victims are often dismembered, stabbed multiple times, or severely bludgeoned As of 2007, no federal law provides for an additional penalty enhancement for hate- motivated homophobic (anti-LGBT) crimes Judge may consider homophobia as a motive during sentencing as part of the 1994 Hate Crimes Sentencing Act

1.Law enforcement is not required to collect and report LGBT hate/bias crimes Under the Hates Crimes Statistics Act, local law enforcement agencies are not required to report hate crimes to the FBI, and some do not. An additional criticism is that of the agencies that do submit data, many do not include hate crime statistics, either denying these sorts of crimes occur in their community or not classifying them as such.

Fears reprisal from the offender(s) Fears embarrassment or abuse from police Ostracism from network Influenced by network not report the crime Emotionally impacted and wants to forget it Blames themselves for being in the wrong place Nothing can be done about reporting it Incident is minor and not worth reporting Not aware of national or local anti-violence programs to help

3.Other reasons for anti-sexual orientation crimes being underreported Mixed motive or pick-up crimes Conflicting police training policies and practices

Statistically, transgender people, per capita, are 16 times more likely to be murdered than the general population and three times more likely than African American males (Source: Literary Stereotyping, 2003) In 2004, the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations reports that hate crimes against transgender people = 88 percent involved violence compared to 58 percent against gay and lesbian victims

Despite the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the most horrific homophobic hate crimes to date have been committed by military personnel against fellow service members The military’s stated policy was eventually expanded to “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass” In 2001, the military watchdog Service Legal Defense Network (SLDN) documented 1,075 cases of anti-gay harassment and 1,250 discharges of men and women suspected of being gay, lesbian or bisexual

1.Eliminating mistreatment, harassment, and inappropriate comments or gestures 2.Training 3.Reporting of harassment 4.Enforcing policies prohibiting harassment 5.Measuring anti- harassment program effectiveness

Federal laws provide criminal and civil causes of action for victims of hate crimes in the U.S., regardless of whether they are citizens Hate crimes may be reported to the FBI for criminal prosecution Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999

There are those, including some law enforcement leaders, who argue that there is no need for special laws dealing with hate/bias crimes because there are already statutes covering specific crimes. For example, an assault by one person on another is prosecutable in all jurisdictions. Therefore, the argument runs, why would such an assault be prosecuted differently even it was motivated by a person’s hate or bias toward victims because of their color, ethnic background, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability?

1.Proving the crime was motivated by bias 2.Uncooperative complaining witnesses 3.Special defenses 4.Lenient sentences

Plain common sense Perceptions of the victim(s) and witnesses about the crime Language used by the perpetrator Background of the perpetrator Severity of the attack Lack of provocation History of similar incidents in the same area Absence of any apparent motive

1.Offender and the victim were of different racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, or sexual orientation groups 2.Bias-related oral comments, written statements, or gestures were made by the offender that indicated his or her bias 3.Bias-related drawings, markings, symbols, or graffiti were left at the crime scene 4.Victim was visiting a neighborhood where previous hate crimes had been committed against other members of his or her racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, or sexual orientation group and where tensions remain high against his or her group 5.Several incidents have occurred in the same locality, at or about the same time, and the victims are all of the same racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, or sexual orientation group 6.A substantial portion of the community where the crime occurred perceives that the incident was motivated by bias

 Anti-white  Anti-black  Anti-American Indian or Alaskan Native  Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander  Anti-multiracial group

 Anti-Jewish  Anti-Catholic  Anti-Protestant  Anti-Islamic (Moslem)  Anti-other religion (Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Sikhism, etc.)  Anti-multi-religious group  Anti-atheist or anti-agnostic

 Anti-Arab  Anti-Hispanic  Anti-other ethnicity/national origin

 Anti-male homosexual (gay)  Anti-female homosexual (lesbian)  Anti-homosexual (gays and lesbian)  Anti-heterosexual  Anti-bisexual  Anti-transgender

1.Fear of re-victimization or retaliation 2.Fear of having privacy compromised 3.For gays, lesbians, bisexual, or transgender individuals, fear of repercussions from being “outed” to family, friends, and employers 4.Fear of law enforcement and uncertainty about the criminal justice system responses 5.For aliens, fear of jeopardizing immigration status, being reported to ICE or deportation 6.Humiliation or shame about being victimized 7.Lack of support system within the community 8.Cultural and language barriers

Approach victims in an empathic and supportive manner and demonstrate concern and sensitivity Attempt to calm the victim and reduce the victim’s alienation Reassure the victim that every available investigative and enforcement tool will be utilized by the police to find and prosecute the persons responsible for the crime Consider the safety of the victims by recommending and providing extra patrol and/or providing prevention and precautionary advice Provide referral information such as counseling and other appropriate public support and assistance agencies Advise the victim of criminal and civil options