Hate Crimes.
Hate crimes negatively affect people since they cause fear and anger due to the possibility of repeated attacks. They also promulgate depression and can worsen any existent health condition especially issues of mental health (Robinson, 2009). They cause financial burdens such as when people are forced to repair and replace vandalized property or take time off from work (Home office, 2009) Sometimes the victims are forced not only to change their accommodation and personal appearance but also their daily patterns to avoid victimization.
History and Types of Hate Crime
America has been plagued by hate crimes since time immemorial. Since the times when slavery was allowed in America, many minority groups have been subjected to hate crimes due to the misconceptions of white supremacy. The segregation rules in the 1920s led to formation of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) which carried out attacks on minority communities especially the African Americans, through vandalizing of synagogues, lynching and burning of crosses. All these hooliganism acts were carried out to maintain the notion of white supremacy. The government was seen as condoning these hate crimes since institutionalized racism was deeply entrenched in its systems. The first hate crime to be investigated by the FBI dates back in the early 1920s and it involved the KKK (Home office, 2009).
The ethnic minorities have been the main target for most of the hate crimes since they are perceived to be the newest within the country despite the fact their families may have been present in the area for a long time. The minorities are always victims of anti-immigrant bias since there is always a recurrent preoccupation with nativism which consists of policies that favor the people born in America. The hate crimes are always generated by the fear that immigrants will take jobs belonging to the natives and lead them to more economic success. There also negative stereotypes that are associated with specific ethnic groups or persons belonging to a certain nationality which can lead to fueling of antagonism (APA, 2009).
The religious crimes have also been on the increase in America but they mostly are vandalism acts, not ruling out the prevalence of personal attacks. Most of the people religious attacks are normally directed towards the Jews according to the FBI. There are anti-semantic groups such as Swastika and SS Lightning Bolts that have targeted the Jews nationalists since the Second World War era. People belonging to other religions have not been spared by hate crimes since there has been a nationwide increase in the anti-Muslim crimes since 2001 (APA, 2009).This is attributed to the 911 terrorist attacks in New York which led to victimization and harassment of Muslims. The rise in Muslim nationality attacks were due to the resentment and anger that the American people felt due to massive destruction of property and loss of lives resulting from the 911 terrorist attacks.
Violence that is gender based has been a historic and social problem with women being the predominant victims. Despite these acts not being classified as hate crimes until recently, women have been subjected to deviant acts such as rape and murder. Most violence committed against women is not merely a random encounter but mainly from former or current male partners (APA, 2009). The victims are continually exposed to threats and fear and thus they live in terror and isolation. This can lead to long term effects such as depression and lowering the self-esteem of women involved. The empowerment of women in various fields recently, led to the increase in gender based violence since some men felt women were venturing into the male dominated fields.
Hate crimes based on sexual orientations have been on the increase since the era sexual liberty within the society. The sexual minorities composed of lesbians and gays have been experiencing most of the attacks since there are those negative attitudes and beliefs that have been coined around homosexuality (Herek, 2006). People who target lesbians and gays normally do so under the guise of enforcing social morals. They are those who take homosexuals to be sexual predators and they justify their attacks as aimed at protecting the society against such vices.
People with both physical and mental disabilities have been major victims of hate crimes since they are perversely stigmatized by most people in the community. Disabled people are subjected to various discriminatory practices and behaviors that invariably increase their risk of physical and sexual abuse (APA, 2009).The hate crimes are based on misplaced perceptions about disabled people who are seen as non-deserving, and non-equal members of the society. Assailants presume that disabled people make minimal contributions to the society but instead burden the society, thus it is quite okay to attack them.
Hate Crime Laws
There are many Acts that provide coverage to the hate crime offences which include the Religious and Racial Hatred Act of 2006, Criminal Justice Act of 2003, Disorder and Crime Act of 2008 which was amended By Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001. There are also others such as Public Order Act of 1986 with part III Incitement to Racial Hatred and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act of 2008. Despite all these Acts being in place, the most inclusive law to be passed on hate crimes took place in April 2009. The House of Representatives dominated by democrats gave an approval for the expansion of federal laws on hate crimes, a move that had been opposed by President Bush during his tenure (Ferraro, 2009).
The law that was in place limited the federal jurisdiction on hate crime, to national origin, religion, color and race assaults. The bill passed by the democrats recently broadened hate crimes by including assaults based on the sexual orientation of victims, physical or mental ability and gender identity (Ferraro, 2009). There was a requirement that the victim had to be engaged in an activity that was federally protected e.g. attending school for the crime to be classified as a federal hate crime. This outdated clause was lifted in the latest Federal Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 so as to ensure more justice for the victims of hate crimes (Johnson, 2009).
Hate Crime Cases
The enactment of hate crime laws is easy but enforcing and implementing them is quite hard. It is difficult to deter bias crimes through patrols since it is hard for the police to recognize them. Graffiti and vandalism are quite difficult to solve and most of the hate crimes that will be investigated, are those which involve serious violence. The investigation of violent bias crimes will not be handled any differently from other violent felonies by the police units (Potter, 2007). The formation of specialized bias crime units has improved the response towards offenses of low levels such as graffiti, vandalism and harassment and hastened the investigation of violent felonies.
The prosecutors face a very challenging task in trials involving hate crime cases. It is hard to prove the bias motivation since it can lead to politicization and distraction of the jury. Jurors and judges likewise may be infuriated and offended by the hate crime charges, leading to impartial judgment based on emotions instead of logic. Hate crime trials involve admission of evidence that pertains to the characters, beliefs and values of the dependant which can look like an inquisition of the persons affiliations. Incarceration of hate crime offenders in prisons is not likely to fully rehabilitate them since racial biasness is predominant in prisons (Potter, 2007). The solution lies in sensitizing people about respect for people racial, religious, sexual orientation, gender and disabilities so as to prevent the escalation of hate crimes.
Hate Crime Statistics
The adoption of the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 has allowed the FBI to publish and gather hate crime statistics annually since 1992 (FBI, 2008). The FBI approximates that 30 percent of the hate crimes committed in 1996 and most other years targeted property with vandalism, robbery, setting fire, stealing and destruction of vehicles, stores, homes, and worship places being most widespread The FBI uses the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) to collect national data on hate crimes which is annually published. The collection of this data helps in improving the accuracy of hate crime statistics and identification of reporting practices (NCJS, 2003). This will go a long way in assisting the federal government to develop a better model for reporting and solving of hate crimes.
The 2001 statistics show that out of the 9721 bias incidents, 44.9 were out of racial prejudice, 21.6 percent were ethnicity and nationality biased, 18.8 were as a result of religious intolerance, 14.3 as a result of sexual orientation bias and 0.4 were from disability bias. This trend has continued being reported in the UCR making it clear that racial biasness is the leading trigger of hate crimes. In 2008, the numbers of incidents that are bias motivated stood at 7783 according to the FBI (NCJS, 2003). The increased number in hate crimes can be attributed to the improved reporting across all states in America. The availability of data improves the accountability and awareness which mitigates immediate action, which will go a long way in curbing widespread community tensions. It will also encourage research into the causes of hate crimes since data is readily available.
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