NCJ Number
207867
Journal
Campus Law Enforcement Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2004 Pages: 22-27,29,32
Editor(s)
Karen E. Breseman
Date Published
September 2004
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article examines law enforcement hate crime policies, both context and content, and the ability or inability of these policies to aid law enforcement in enforcing hate crime law, specifically policies developed by campus crime.
Abstract
In the last 10 years or so, there have been increasing calls for law enforcement agencies to develop specific policies designed to encourage law enforcement agencies to enforce hate crime law. These hate crime policies are also called general orders. Analyses have shown that general orders shape the practice of hate crime policing. However, little is known about the development and content of law enforcement hate crime policies. This article briefly presents information on the hate crime policies of 937 law enforcement agencies in California in order to stimulate one’s thinking about what the contours of a good campus hate crime policy might resemble. The article is divided into three sections with the first describing the distribution of hate crime orders in law enforcement agencies in California and the reasons law enforcement gives for having or not having an order or policy. The second section describes the variation in the content of hate crime orders throughout California. The third and final section addresses whether or not hate crime policies affect what officers actually do. The next question to be addressed should be do orders lead to more reporting or does more reporting lead to orders.