NCJ Number
125643
Date Published
1990
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the extent and dynamics of bias-motivated crime as well as the official response to it.
Abstract
The collective evidence from many jurisdictions around the Nation indicates that racially, religiously, and sexually motivated violent incidents have increased in the last decade. Possible causes of hate-based criminal acts are rapid ethnic and racial demographic changes, the exacerbation of intergroup tensions in fluctuating job markets and in areas where housing is scarce, and policies designed to redress past and present discriminatory practices. In such violent incidents, offenders are apparently caught up in a rage and a sense that the victims deserve what is happening to them. Bias-motivated crimes have become a distinct category for investigation by anti-bias units within police departments and prosecutors offices in states and regions where populations are large and heterogeneous. Hate crimes legislation in many states has given prosecutors the option to upgrade the severity of the charge in bias-related crimes. Bias-related attacks on homosexuals, however, are often not covered by such legislation, although the dynamics of the incidents are similar to those involving other minorities. Hate crimes cannot be simply defined as a law enforcement problem. They reflect the need for broad social, economic, and political policies that will address the root causes of bias-related violence. 24 references.