NCJ Number
194307
Journal
Criminal Justice Ethics Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer/Fall 1992 Pages: 55-61
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines implementation of a police-made hate crime reporting policy in New York City.
Abstract
The article questions whether motivation-specific criminal laws and police initiatives can significantly remediate such "deeply entrenched and sordid" problems as racism, anti-semitism, and homophobia. New York City has established a Bias Crime Unit, which is responsible for deciding whether particular crimes are bias-related. This job has sensitive, even potentially explosive, social and political ramifications. The Bias Unit's pronouncement on whether any crime is bias-motivated has itself become a volatile political issue which could exacerbate or even set off conflict. The article describes the need for attention to the country's racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, and gender attitudes and behavior, and efforts toward building a more tolerant and cooperative multicultural society. However, there are doubts that a new law of crime and punishment has much of a role to play in making things better. The country's goal should be a color-blind society and a color-blind criminal justice system, where all crimes are treated evenhandedly. Notes