There are many thinkers and writers that question the legitimacy of hate or bias crime laws on the basis that they violate a fundamental democratic principle by punishing individuals for their prejudiced thoughts and beliefs (Altman, 2001). The assumption is that the defendant had a bias motive for committing the offense and the motive consists solely of the defendant's thought. (Gellman, 1992). Therefore, it has been argued that bias crime laws are illegitimate because they punish motive. In addition, the fact that complicates things further is that the motive is inextricably tied to a certain set on political values and attitudes. Other writers have recognized that hate crime is a social construct, focusing on prejudice as a criminal act. It attempts to extend the civil rights paradigm into the field of criminal law. (Jacobs & Potter, 1998).
However, there are several justifications put forth for such laws. These justifications also serve in the context of this paper as further arguments that help differentiate hate crimes from ordinary crimes. James Weinstein (cited in Altman, 2001) gave five possible justifications for such laws: prejudice is morally reprehensible than other motives and so deserves greater punishment (retributive justice); society's morality holds prejudice to be morally more reprehensible and so requires more punishment; bias crime do extra harm to their victims because the offense is understood as an attack on their identity; bias crimes do extra harm to the victim's community because the attack is understood by the community as an attack against it and a threat to its members; bias crimes do extra harm to society in general because they increase tensions and conflict among social groups.
The incidences of hate crime are important because are the...
In the horrifying details regarding a mass execution operation conducted by a series of German platoons, one man recalls that "it was in no way the case that those who did not want to or could not carry out the shooting of human beings with their own hands could not keep themselves out of the task."(Browning, 65). Browning indicates that many Germans felt inclined by responsibility to follow the
Social Psychology of Hate Groups Content Analysis of the Social Psychology of Hate Groups Over a decade ago, it was already apparent that the Internet had advantages for social organization on the part of marginalized groups -- and that some of these marginalized groups would pose a challenge, as they could be described as "hate groups." A survey of literature on the social psychology of the Internet singles out many factors why
Based on the foregoing considerations, it is suggested that the DCMP restructure their existing training programs and administration so that a more unified and centralized plan is in place, as well as providing for better instructor qualifications, evaluation, learning retention and more efficient and effective use of resources which are by definition scarce. These broad general issues were refined for the purposes of this study into the research questions stated
(Harris, 2002, p. 8) Terrorist acts are both crimes and forms of warfare, and in both respects are unlike what we are used to." 2 Understanding the larger possibilities, such as warfare, law enforcement will be able to make informed decisions on matters concerning data collection. When gathering information it is important to document and standardize every step of the process. This will alleviate any complications when categorizing behaviors or
Stuart Hall/REVISED According to Stuart Hall, culture is about shared meanings; language is the medium through which meaning is produced and exchanged (Hall, 2003, p. 1). In linking language to identity and culture, Hall uses the word "culture" in an anthropological sense, meaning to distinguish groups of people, whether they belong to a community, nation or social group, by their shared values. The shared values are manifest in literature, art, music
Criminal Justice Computers and Their Effects upon Police Efficiency Computer technology has transformed the modern day police department. Numerous systems now provide assistance in fields ranging from communication, to information storage and retrieval, and even allocation of personnel. Properly designed, computer applications save time and energy. They permit police officers to do the work they were hired to do - police. The various articles in this report both feature and support the
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now