HATE

What is a Hate Crime? Defining a Hate Crime A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, Congress has defined a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." Hate itself is not a crime—and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties. overview.htm Photo: e.asp e.asp

Raised to Hate Children follow in their parents’ footsteps. If they’re being raised in a hate- filled environment, chances are good that they will eventually commit hate crimes. -- Dr. Edward Dunbar, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles ( Photo:

Table 10 Incidents Bias Motivation by Location, 2006 Location Total incidents Bias motivation Multiple- bias incidents 1 RaceReligion Sexual orientation Ethnicity/ national originDisability Total7,7224,0001,4621, Air/bus/train terminal Bank/savings and loan Bar/nightclub Church/synagogue/temple Commercial office building Construction site Convenience store Department/discount store Drug store/Dr.'s office/hospital Field/woods Government/public building Grocery/supermarket Highway/road/alley/street1, Hotel/motel/etc Jail/prison Lake/waterway Liquor store Parking lot/garage Rental storage facility Residence/home2,3941, Restaurant School/college Service/gas station Specialty store (TV, fur, etc.) Other/unknown Multiple locations In a multiple-bias incident, two conditions must be met: (a) more than one offense type must occur in the incident and (b) at least two offense types must be motivated by different biases. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (

Table 10 Incidents Bias Motivation by Location, 2007 Location Total incidents Bias motivation Multiple- bias incidents 1 RaceReligion Sexual orientation Ethnicity/ national originDisability Total7,6243,8701,4001,2651, Air/bus/train terminal Bank/savings and loan Bar/nightclub Church/synagogue/temple Commercial office building Construction site Convenience store Department/discount store Drug store/Dr.'s office/hospital Field/woods Government/public building Grocery/supermarket Highway/road/alley/street1, Hotel/motel/etc Jail/prison Lake/waterway Liquor store Parking lot/garage Rental storage facility Residence/home2,3291, Restaurant School/college Service/gas station Specialty store (TV, fur, etc.) Other/unknown Multiple locations In a multiple-bias incident, two conditions must be met: (a) more than one offense type must occur in the incident and (b) at least two offense types must be motivated by different biases. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (

Discrepancy in Numbers – Hate Crimes Incidents Throughout the United States In 1991, the FBI reported 421 crimes against the gay community in all of the United States. In 1991, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reported 1,822 crimes against the gay community in just 5 urban areas: Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Federal Hate Crime Statistics: Why the Numbers Don't Add Up FBI Hate Crime Data is Spotty Gannett News Service, July 16, 1999 By Greg Barrett WASHINGTON -- A gay man who allegedly made an advance toward two male acquaintances was lured from a Sylacauga, Ala., bar in February and beaten to death with an ax handle. His corpse was dragged to a creek bank and burned on a pyre of old tires... Alabama and Mississippi only reported a single hate crime incident each for all of k Billy Jack Gaither died in Sylacauga, Alabama in February, Greg Barrett, “FBI Hate Crime Data is Spotty,” Gannett News Service, July 16, 1999 Governments need to say, because citizens need to know, that it is illegal to discriminate against people just because of who they are. The state of Alabama should include sexual orientation in its hate-crime law. It is the right thing to do. --New York Times, March 9, 1999

CUNY/SUNY HATE CRIMES Only ONE* incident, a burglary, was reported for the years 2005 through This burglary is reported under both the “on campus” and “residence halls” categories. And, strangely enough, there weren’t any hate crimes on public college campuses reported by local and state police – not even the burglary! *This number reflects the hate crimes that were reported to campus security and local authorities. U.S. Department of Education Aggregated Data (2005 – 2007). (

Why do hate crimes go unreported or unrecorded? Some reasons are… Cultural shame…. Hidden truths… Not taken seriously Fear of Police Deportation Language barrier Source: “A Policymaker’s Guide to Hate Crimes,” Pages 9-11, Bureau of Justice – Department of Justice ( f), (March 1997; Reprinted November 1999).

What Can We do to Solve the Problem of Hate Crime? 1.Educate and nurture 2.Organize 3.Report hate crimes 4.Record allegations; must be more accurate 5.Form support groups 6.Increase punishment 7.Provide counseling 8.Provide for better security on campus