We can trace the origin of hate crime back to the Roman Empire; however in the US what we now call hate crime were executed by the Klu Klux Klan following the Civil War (Salami, 2012). In the UK the term hate crime began to be used after World War Two and official recognition occurred after the urban riots of 1981. The murder of Stephen Lawrence was a development in highlighting that problems of hate crime existed but were not being acknowledged. The only Criminal Justice Agency that will investigate hate crime is the Police. Although many laws and policies have been put in place since then to protect individuals from hate crime, much more is still to be done but the progress already achieved cannot be ignored (Williams, 2009).
What constitutes a crime in one place may not be in another place and hate crime has many diverse definitions but law enforcement in the UK define it as “Hate crime involves any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic” (Home Office, 2013). However Hall, (2005) says that the word “hate crime” is not very helpful as it can be misleading. Simply hate crime is a criminal offence which is driven by hate whether that is due to a person’s identity, race, religion, faith or sexual orientation.
Hate crimes damage the feelings of security of not only the victim but also the wider community or people who share the same characteristic as the victim because it is their identity which is being specifically targeted (Iganski, 2008). Hate crimes are often committed by groups of young people (Gerstenfeld, 2004) and the majority of hate crimes are due to thrill, defensive and retaliatory and they are largely carried ...
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...(Ed) Hate Crime: Concepts, Causes, Controversies Willan
Press Association. (2013). UK anti- Muslim hate crime soars, Police figures show. Guardian. 27 Dec. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian
Salami, I. (2012). RACISM AND “HATE CRIME” IN THE U.S.: The Ku Klux Klan Still “Kill At Will”. [Accessed: 23rd April 2014]. Available at: http://www.globalresearch.ca
Satchell, P. (2007) Hate speech v free speech. Guardian. 10th Oct. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com
Takolia, N. (2011). How do we tackle the prejudice of the far right?. Guardian. 10 Nov. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com
Williams, R. (2009). Pilkington case may be a Lawrence moment for disability hate crime. The Guardian, 30 September, p. 3.
Wright, O. (2014). Exclusive: Race Hate- a crime the police will not solve. Independent. 13 Jan. Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk
A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
...o more attacks and feeling alienated, helpless, suspicious and fearful. (Ochi) This is an entry in a report regarding hate crime given by Rose Ochi from the U.S. Department of Justice. It explains all too well what people of both sides of hate crime feel. Those that commit hate crimes mentally ill; however psychologists do find that they have a, “high level of aggression and antisocial behavior.” (Dunbar) It was very interesting to find that those who commit hate crime offenses premeditate their crimes and will drive further out to commit these crimes.
Harris, Colin. "Why Do We Fear Others Who Are Not Like Us?” Ethnics Daily, 20 June
"Hate-Crime Laws." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News
There are several reasons why offenders commit hate crimes, they vary from case to case, however, one key element is fear which is caused by ignorance. The offenders fear the unknown and the competition they feel that exists, them vs. the ‘others’. When fear is accompanied by other factors it could potentially lead to a violent crime. “The
Hate speech directs people to commit hateful crimes. The difference between hate crimes and regular crimes is that hate crimes are committed to a person because of his/her differences. Some examples of differences would be their gender, race, hair color, body shape, intelligence, sexual orientation, etc. Hate speech doesn’t have to be direct talking. Hate speech can now be down on the Internet or through magazine; and more people are using the Internet to publicize their vile beliefs. In the last five years, the number of hate crimes that have been reported to the FBI has increased by 3,743 (FBI statistics). That means that 11,690 hate crimes were reported in 2000 in only 48 states and not all police forces released their data. Imagine how many other hate crimes were committed that weren’t even reported to the police. Ethnic and racial violence or tension has decreased in Europe due to newly implemented hate speech laws (ABC News).
The term hate crime first appeared in the late 1980’s as a way of understanding a racial incident in the Howard Beach section of New York City, in which a black man was killed while attempting to evade a violent mob of white teenagers, shouting racial epithets. Although widely used by the federal government of the United States, the media, and researchers in the field, the term is somewhat misleading because it suggests incorrectly that hatred is invariably a distinguishing characteristic of this type of crime. While it is true that many hate crimes involve intense animosity toward the victim, many others do not. Conversely, many crimes involving hatred between the offender and the victim are not ‘hate crimes’ in the sense intended here. For example an assault that arises out of a dispute between two white, male co-workers who compete for a promotion might involve intense hatred, even though it is not based on any racial or religious differences... ...
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
The fact that hate crimes still occur in America is another signpost that tolerance is still an unheard of notion to a lot of people. In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics showing that 2,105 law enforcement agencies reported 9,080 offences of hate crime. This includes vandalism, intimidation, simple and aggravated assault, and murder. This also includes not only race statistics, but religious, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability motivated crimes. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released statistics of discrimination charges for the same year with all ...
Lieberman J, Arndt J, Personius J, Cook A. “Vicarious Annihilation: The Effect of Mortality Salience on Perceptions of Hate Crimes”. Law & Human Behavior (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.). December 2001;25(6):547. Available from: Business Source Alumni Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 1, 2014.
In this world today, hate is becoming increasingly more abundant, especially as it concerns race. Whether it be an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer or the use of racial slurs towards someone, it seems like racism is all around us. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows a little girl named Scout using racial slurs. Racism is so culturally accepted in the town that it’s okay to use racial slurs such as the N-Word that even Atticus, a lawyer representing a black man falsely accused of rape, uses it a couple of times. Earlier this year, the Ku Klux Klan, a group of white supremacists, held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and proved that racism isn’t a thing of the past.
If you think hate crimes are something that have just recently started occuring, or if you think these things don’t happen anymore, you’re wrong. Statistics say hate crime rates went up 8% in 2006 and then decreased in 2012. But statistics aren’t always correct, because they just show reported hate crimes, some victims are too scared to report it. Plus, hate crimes have always been apart of history. If you don’t believe me, some examples are Jesus’ crucifixion, the Holocaust, and Martin Luther King Jr.‘s assassination. Jesus was crucified because of his religion- the Romans didn’t like that he claimed to be God’s son so they executed him. The Holocaust was also because of religion- the Nazis were against the Jews so they took them out of their homes and sent them out to concentration camps which ended up killing a lot of them. Martin Luther King Jr. was k...
A hate crime is a crime, usually involving violence or intimidation committed against others based partially or entirely on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or membership in another social group.
Today we have looked at the problem known as hate crimes and the varied causes which keep it in existence. We have also discussed some solutions to this act of hate.
There are many who believe hate crime should be punished more severely since it ‘’has the potential to cause greater harm.’’ (Hate Crime Laws, 2014) Hate crimes, like racial discrimination, have unfortunately been a part of this country