Hate Crime
Summary
·	Facts & Figures
·	Legislation
·	Publications
·	Programs
·	Training & Technical Assistance
·	Grants & Funding
·	Related Resources

Hate Crime

"Violence committed because victims look different, practice a different faith, or come from a different ethnic background threatens America's most cherished ideals" (Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives that are Enhancing the Efforts of Criminal Justice Practitioners, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2000).

Summary

Hate crime is defined as "the violence of intolerance and bigotry, intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability" ( Hate Crime: The Violence of Intolerance , Department of Justice Community Relation Service, 2001).

Over the past 12 years, Congress has passed many pieces of legislation to help shape the future of hate crime initiatives and preventative measures. These anti-hate crime legislated acts include the:

• Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999
• Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996
• Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act
• Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 .

Hate crime activities are being investigated at the Federal level by the FBI’s Bias Crimes Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF)  church arson and explosives experts. BATF investigations also focus on regulating the illegal sale and possessions of firearms to potential perpetrators of hate crimes. Programs have been developed to bring communities together to fight hate crimes through mediation, dialogue and discussion, and innovative strategies to introduce and educate youth on attitudes and behavior.

In order to understand the scope of the hate crime problem, the Justice Department was mandated, with the passage of the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, to collect statistics and gather information on the prevalence of these bias-motivated crimes:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)  is the only national data collection program. As part of the UCR Program, the FBI publishes hate crime statistics in their annual publication,  Hate Crime Statistics .
• As part of the Attorney General’s Hate Crime initiative, the Bureau of Justice Statistics  has examined ways to improve participation by law enforcement agencies in collecting and reporting hate crime statistics to the FBI and to profile local responses to hate crime. The findings will assist the Federal government in identifying the accuracy of hate crime statistics and reporting practices, produce trend data and developing a model for hate crime reporting.
• In addition to collecting statistics, several agencies are funding researchers to conduct studies on hate crimes.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) , the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)  and the  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)  currently sponsor or have sponsored grantee agencies to develop programs, and provide training seminars and technical assistance to individuals and local agencies regarding hate crimes.

• OVC works to improve the justice system’s response to victims of hate crimes.
• OJJDP funds agencies to develop training for professionals and to address hate crimes through preventative measures and community resources.
• BJA has a training initiative for law enforcement agencies to generate awareness and to help in identifying, investigating, and taking appropriate action for bias crimes, as well as arming agencies with tools for responding effectively to incidents.

This topical resource on Hate Crime contains the following information:

Facts and Figures – Includes the latest information and statistics.
Legislation – A sample of links to online Federal and State legislation and testimony.
Publications – A sample of available resources.
Programs – Examples of State and local programs and initiatives available online.
Training and Technical Assistance – A sample of training and technical assistance opportunities available through nationally recognized agencies and associations.
Grants and Funding – Links to Federal funding opportunities.
Related Resources – Examples of nationally recognized agencies and organizations that provide services or information.

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