NCJ Number
134562
Date Published
1992
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper examines issues related to clarity regarding current claims about the nature of hate-motivated crimes and their prevalence, time trends, and causes.
Abstract
At the very least, the category of hate-motivated crimes includes those based on the victim's symbolic status as a representative of a hated (by the perpetrator) social group, those stemming from the perpetrator's instrumental or expressive motives, those generated by the perpetrator's uncertainty about the characteristics of members of the victim's group, and those with and without substantial premeditation. The hate motivation should be a necessary condition for the crime, whether the motivation stems from firmly held beliefs or substantial uncertainty about the victim's group. The degree of premeditation or instrumentality should not be a relevant factor in a hate crime. Current data on the number, kinds, and distribution of hate-motivated crimes should be viewed skeptically, given the elusive nature of such crimes and the limited methodologies used to collect data. In determining time trends in hate-motivated crimes toward male homosexuals, attention must be given to the influence of fear of AIDS. Very little is known about risk factors for hate-motivated crimes. Even in the case of race, where skin color and other physical features are relevant to risk, no quantitative estimates exist that separate the impact of race from other related risk factors. 2 figures, 9 notes, and 60 references