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Major characteristics of hate crime offenders
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Profile of a Hate Crime Offender Sterilized from emotion, hate crime, also called bias crime, is those offenses motivated in part or singularly by personal prejudice against other because of a diversity-race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. Hate crimes are committed out of anger, ignorance, and lack of knowledge of another’s ideas and beliefs. There are many causes for an individual to commit a hate crime. Also, many different profiles fit the description of a hate crime offender. There are ways to prevent and control hate crimes, but they will always be present in society as long as every person has the right to express his or her opinion. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...Violence on College Campuses," (Baltimore: National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence, 1990). Fox, James and Jack Levin Overkill: Mass Murder and Serial Killing Exposed (New York: Dell, 1996). Freeman, Steven, "Hate Crime Laws: Punishment Which Fits the Crime," Annual Survey of American Law (New York: New York University School of Law, 1993); pp. 581-585. Hamm, Mark S. Hate Crime: International Perspectives on Causes and Control (Anderson: Cincinnati, 1994). Jacobs, James B. and Jessica S. Henry, "The Social Construction of a Hate Crime Epidemic," The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Winter 1996); 366-391. Jacobs, James B. and Kimberly A. Potter "Hate Crimes: A Critical Perspective," Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Ed. Michael Tonry (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1997).
When people bully or target a specific person for their race or different, that is a hate crime. Hate crimes occurs around the world. Hate crimes nowadays aren’t recognized as a real threat as murder, but leaders and the peoples voices are reaching out to the world. Although these hate crimes and groups could get out of hands, we need to alleviate these problem.
...ypes. These crimes are called “hate crimes”, and are directed towards a particular individual not because of something he or she has done, but simply because of the group they belong to.
According to Petrosino (2003: 10) hate crimes can be defined as "..the victimisation of minorities due to their racial or ethnic identity by members of the majority. " (p. 4) Hate crimes are also known as bias-motivated crimes because the crimes are motivated by a bias towards a person or persons including but not limited to those of a different gender, ethnic background, religion, or sexual orientation. Hate crimes are quite serious and have severe and long lasting-effects for the targeted victims. Due to the severe nature of the crimes many countries have strict laws in place to punish offenders. Hate crime is not widely discussed in Canadian society because it has not been a prominent issue until now. “..The extent of the problem in Canada was limited to a small number of persons, such activity could create a climate of malice and destructiveness to the values of our society (Cohen Report, 1966:24). As a result of the committee’s efforts, Parliament amended the Criminal Code in 1970, thus rendering hate propaganda as a punishable offence (Law Reform Commission of Canada, 1986:7)
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 ...
A hate crime is an act of aggression against an individual's actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religions, disability, sexual orientation, or gender. Examples include assault and battery, vandalism, or threats which involve bias indicators - pieces of evidence like bigoted name-calling or graffiti.
During the 20th century, many civil rights acts came into play in hopes of creating more equality, such as the right to vote, attend school with the white children and geographical area to live in for the African Americans. Towards the end of the 20th century, biased motivated crimes increased. President Roosevelt prompted the change and the civil rights Act of 1957. This act prohibited any individual from infringing on their right to vote. During this time, it also brought light to the investigations of hate crime and bias motived crimes. Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act to assist in reporting official statistics of crime in America. The collection of data came from the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Lawrence, 2002). Once the data began to demonstrate perceived bias crimes, concern grew and it was recognized as a social problem in the United States. It is difficult to compare the data retrieved during 20th century because prior to this time there was no data collected.
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.
What is meant by the term “hate crime”? Discuss with reference to at least one type of hate crime, paying particular attention to the social and cultural context in which some identities become targets.
There are both state and federal laws that prohibit hate crimes, but proving an assailant committed a crime in prejudice is very difficult. Any type of crime can call for some form of punishment, from fines and short prison stays for misdemeanors to long term imprisonment for felonies. Once it has been reviled that an accused willfully committed an offense, proof must be given that indicates the crime was influenced by prejudice against a specific characteristic in order to show that it was also a hate crime. When this can be proven, the harshness of the crime automatically increases. People often wonder why hate crime punishment is harsher than for crimes that are not motivated by any type of bias. The basic reason for this is that most crimes are directed at an individual, but hate crimes are against an entire community. A burglar who breaks into a random home does so for personal gain, and usually doesn’t even know who lives in the home they are invading. Conversely, a person who chooses a victim based on a particular bias is singling out a ch...
Lyons, Christopher J. 2006. “Stigma or Sympathy? Attributions of Fault to Hate Crime Victims and Offenders.” American Sociological Association. 69:39-59
There are many different types of crimes, that happen all over the world. One of these types of crimes is hate crimes based on religion. These crimes usually happen between members of opposing religions, like Christianity and Islam. There are several different components that go into hate crimes and several concepts on how to prevent or limit these crimes.
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
Scapegoating is when a person irrationally blames their failures on others, therefore not taking responsibility themselves. The “scapegoating theory says that prejudiced people believe they are society’s victims” (Schaefer 38). It is always someone else’s fault that things do not go their way and the person “… transfers the responsibility for failure to some vulnerable group” (Schaefer 38).
Someone commits a hate crime every hour. In the most recent data collection, 2014, a reported 17, 876 hate crimes were committed. This is a national crisis that we cannot allow to continue.
In America, hate crimes are a rising problem. Statistics show that a hate crime is committed every hour. A cross is burned every week. Eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews, and one Latino become victims every day. Today, America prides itself on being a tolerant country. Through legislation including affirmative action and movements against racism, we see ourselves as a country offering equal opportunities to all. This statement, however, is slightly biased. Contrary to popular belief, everything is not wonderful in the land of the free and home of the brave. Many live in fear of being persecuted because of who they are naturally. The United States needs to find a way to combat these crimes, mainly through introducing tougher laws regarding hate crimes.