NCJ Number
207230
Date Published
2004
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on the commission and prosecution of hate crimes in 2003 under California law, i.e., crimes motivated by the victim's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or physical or mental disability as reported by law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
The 1,491 hate-crime events reported in 2003 constituted a 10.1-percent decrease from 2002, and the 1,815 hate-crime offenses showed a 9.7-percent decrease from 2002. The number of hate-crime victims decreased 9.6 percent, and the number of suspects linked to these crimes decreased 17 percent. Hate-crime events found to be related to the victim's race/ethnicity/national origin decreased 11.8 percent from 2002 (914 compared with 1,036). Hate-crime events that involved male homosexual victims decreased 18.4 percent compared with those reported for 2002 (218 vs. 267). Anti-Jewish hate-crime events decreased 11.4 percent from the previous year (155 compared with 175). Violent hate offenses decreased 17.5 percent from 2002 (1,252 compared to 1,517), and hate offenses that involved property increased 14.4 percent from 2002 (563 compared with 492). Prosecutors filed 304 hate-crime cases in 2003, and convictions were obtained in 197 of these cases, with 128 of the cases being confirmed as hate crimes and 69 judged to be non-bias-motivated crimes. Trend data show that anti-Black hate crime offenses have been the most prevalent of the bias offenses, followed by anti-male homosexual hate-crime offenses. Trend data encompass the years 1995-2003. 14 tables and appended relevant California law, data characteristics and limitations, and data-collection methodology