NCJ Number
194781
Journal
Deviant Behavior Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2002 Pages: 115-148
Date Published
2002
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The article presents a study of hate crimes against the Amish, also known as "Claping" and further explores the bias motivations of offenders who commit these crimes.
Abstract
Using data collected from non-Amish offender narratives, the authors developed a study of anti-Amish hate crimes and also of the offender biases that motivated these crimes. The study sample consisted of eight offenders and the data was developed by videotaped interview. An overview of Amish history and beliefs, hate crime theory, and "claping" in particular, where claping is defined as bias-motivated physical, verbal, or property attacks against Amish persons are presented. Examples of claping are given and portions of offender narratives of their claping offenses are presented. Typical claping offenders were rural or small-town adolescent males out in groups. Amish hate crime victimization was analyzed through the routine activities theory. The theory’s three elements are the presence of a motivated offender, the existence of a suitable target, and the lack of capable guardians to protect the target. The authors found that the theory was applicable to their study of Amish hate crimes and claping. At the time of publication, the authors asserted that this article was one of two known studies on claping. 3 notes, 21 references