Hate/Bias Crimes: Victims, Laws, Investigations, and Prosecutions

1. Hate/Bias Crimes: Victims, Laws, Investigations, and Prosecutions Chapter 12

2. Learning Objectives for Chapter 12 • Define as well as differentiate between a hate crime and hate incident • Describe the scope of the hate crime problem, including historical perspectives

3. Learning Objectives for Chapter 12 • Discuss response strategies to hate crimes and appropriate victim assistance techniques • Identify hate crimes related to anti-semitism, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and national origin • Explain hate crime laws, investigative procedures, and offender prosecution

4. Historical Perspective • 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

5. The Hate/Bias Crime Problem • 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

6. Intergroup Conflict Key Factors • Migration • Power quest • Insecurity • Limited resources

7. Racial Attacks between Blacks and Latinos: 2006 Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations • There is a trend between Blacks and Hispanics in attacking each other • 73 percent of the identified suspects in anti-Black hate crimes are Latino • 80 percent of the suspects in anti-Latino hate crimes are Black

8. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Intimidation, and Violence Report (1990) • Racial integration of neighborhoods, leading to “move-in violence” • Deep-seated racial hatred played on by organized hate groups • Economic competition among racial and ethnic groups • Poor police response to hate crimes

9. Scope of Hate Crimes Nationally • 9,021 Hate Crime Offenses Reported in 2004 in the U.S.—an increase of 315 crimes from 2003 • 7,642 single bias-motivated criminal incidents reported (not including gender and disability) in 2001 in the U.S. – Racial: 53 percent – Religious: 18 percent – Sexual orientation: 16 percent – Ethnic/national origin: 13 percent Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Report, 2004

10. Definition of Hate Crime 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

11. Definition of Hate Incident 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

12. Ethnoviolence “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

13. Hate Crime Urban Dynamics Theories • Clustering and target zone theory • Economy and hate violence • “Move-in” violence

14. Targets of Hates of Crimes • 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

15. Jews and Anti-Semitism— A Religious and Cultural Group • 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

16. Jews and Anti-Semitism— Prevalence of Anti-Semitic Crimes • In 2005, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported 1,757 anti-Semitic incidents, a 3 percent decrease from 2004—Source: Anti-Defamation League (ADL) • In 2005, these offenses consisted of 1,140 acts of harassment (intimidation, threats, and assaults) and 617 acts of vandalism (property damage as well as arson and cemetery desecration) —Source: ADL • Extreme anti-Semitic crimes have occurred such as the 2006 Seattle shooting at the Jewish Federation office

17. Jews and Anti-Semitism—Anti-Semitic Groups and Individuals • Several types of groups in the United States have exhibited anti-Semitic attitudes, and some of the most extreme groups have committed hate crimes against Jews • Anti-Semitic groups include (but not limited to): – KKK, Aryan Nation, White Aryan Resistance – The Order, Posse Comitatus, Neo-Nazi Skinheads, – The Covenant and the Sword, and more

18. Jewish Community Concerns:What Law Enforcement Can Do 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

19. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) Victimization • 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

20. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) Victimization • 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

21. Phenomenon of Underreporting 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.

22. 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 2. According to the NCAVP 2005 Report: LGBT victims do not report being victimized

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

24. Transgender Persons as Victims of Sexual Orientation Hate Crimes • 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

25. Mini Case StudyPre-operational transsexual arrest What would you do?

26. 82 percent were male offenders 39 percent were European American offenders 27 percent were African American offenders Source: NCAVP, 2006 24 percent were Hispanic American offenders 63 percent were strangers to the victims Perpetrators of Crime Related to Sexual Orientation

27. U.S. Military • 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

28. U.S. Military PFC Barry Winchell—Fort Campbell • Bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat while sleeping in the barracks • Taunted with anti-gay slurs before death • Violated the “Don’t Ask” policy by a sergeant who asked him his sexual orientation

29. 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 DOD’s Action Plan for Military Services

30. Many states have enacted “Safe Schools” laws mandating campus environments that are free of harassment and discrimination Lawsuits have resulted in expensive verdicts for anti-LGBT environments on campus National Mental Health Association (2002) research showed that antigay bullying is widespread in American’s school Campus Police need to have active involvement in prevention and assistance Campus Police

31. 1. Creation of task forces and councils to establish ongoing dialogue and networking 2. Public forums that allow police officials to meet the LGBT community 3. Appointment of a police official to be a liaison with the LGBT community 4. Involvement of prosecutors in the development of policies, procedures, communications, and awareness training Police Relations with LGBT Communities

32. Hate Crime Laws: Federal Laws • 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

33. Hate Crime Laws: State Laws • Almost every state and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that can be invoked to redress bias-motivated crimes • “Penalty-enhancements” statutes were upheld unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1993 decision of Wisconsin v. Mitchell • Penalty enhancements are legal when the defendant intentionally selects their victim based on the victim’s race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability

34. Why Special Laws on Hate Crimes? • 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?

35. Hate/Bias Crime and Incident Investigations—General Checklist 1. Assigned officer/first responder 2. Patrol field supervisor 3. Watch commander 4. Assigned investigator or specialized unit 5. Crime prevention, community relations or specialized unit 6. Training unit

36. Models for Investigating Hate/Bias Crimes for Police Departments Administrative follow-up would include: • Investigations required • Referrals and support for the victim • Conducting of public meetings to resolve neighborhood problems • Conflict resolution • Liaison with the diverse organizations in the community and victim advocates

37. Models for Investigating Hate/Bias Crimes for Police Departments • Small (1 to 100 police officers) – Detectives may do the follow-up – Limited staffing resources • Medium (100 to 500 police officers) – Investigations unit for follow-up • Large (500 + police officers) – Have the resources to refer to Investigations unit

38. Hate/Bias Crime ProsecutionDistrict Attorney’s or Prosecutors’ Office Effective and successful approaches: • Establish specialized hate crimes or civil rights violations units • Standardize procedures to prosecute hate crime cases (this standardization should include vertical prosecution of cases)

39. Hate/Bias Crime ProsecutionDistrict Attorney’s or Prosecutors’ Office Effective and successful approaches continued: • Appoint attorneys to be liaisons with various ethnic, racial, religious, and sexual orientation groups in the community • Provide all attorneys on staff with cultural awareness or sensitivity training • Provide alternative sentencing programs aimed at rehabilitating individuals who commit hate-motivated crimes

40. Special Problems in Prosecuting Hate/Bias Crimes 1. Proving the crime was motivated by bias 2. Uncooperative complaining witnesses 3. Special defenses 4. Lenient sentences

41. 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 Prosecutors’ Established Guidelines in Hate/Bias Crimes

42. Hate Crime Objective Evidence: Bias Motivation 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

43. Hate Crime Objective Evidence: Bias Motivation 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

44. Racial Bias • Anti-white • Anti-black • Anti-American Indian or Alaskan Native • Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander • Anti-multiracial group

45. Religious Bias • 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

46. Ethnicity/National Origin Bias • Anti-Arab • Anti-Hispanic • Anti-other ethnicity/national origin

47. Sexual Orientation Bias • Anti-male homosexual (gay) • Anti-female homosexual (lesbian) • Anti-homosexual (gays and lesbian) • Anti-heterosexual • Anti-bisexual • Anti-transgender

48. Mini Case StudyPleasant Hill, California Bias Crime What evidence would be required to prove this was bias motivated? What steps should the city, police, church, and community take to resolve this situation?

49. Law Enforcement and the Victim 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

50. Law Enforcement and the Victim 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