Hate Crimes Introduction

Crime related to have caused a very polarizing and contentious racial issue within the United States. The recent killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arberry has highlighted the fragile intersection between racial, crime and apprehension. The George Floyd case in particular highlighted some of the shortcomings of the criminal justice system as it relates to race. Hates crimes over the past few years have been on the rise in the United States, although small on a absolute, basis the year to year increases in crimes has been discouraging to both minorities and the population in general.

Pundits often cite the racial rhetoric of then president Donald Trump as a catalyst for the increase in hate crimes. Other site a rapid emergence of nationalism from an economic and political context that often see those from other races as threats. Here, Muslims and Asian Americans bore the brunt of these hate crimes. In particular, as the emergence of COVID-19 became much more apparent, Asian American hate crimes saw a precipitous rise. The primary catalyst for these crimes can be attributed to a confluence of influences. Here, the COVID-19 pandemic displaces millions of Americans within the hospitality, retail, energy and tourism sectors. These individuals due to no fault of their own lost their jobs and often turned to China for blame. Rising nationalistic posturing by the United States escalated in a more contentious trade war, further fueling the resentment harbored by Americans against Asians. As a result, these frustrations culminated into a rise of crime in many neighborhoods that were ravaged by the pandemic (Berlet, 2001)

Hate crimes as a result of political, economic and racial circumstances is not unique to this period. America, even outside of slavery has committed racial crimes in numerous instances throughout its history. For example, Japanese citizens where placed in concentration camps following the attack of the Japanese military on pearl harbor on December 7TH, 1941. Likewise citizens from the Middle East where heavily targeted after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Place of worship where vandalized and in some case innocent American citizens where harmed as a result of these hate crimes. Although some have a racial context, many are...

Many of these elements coalesce to create a incentive to commit hate crimes (Balboni, 2001).

How is it defined under legal statute (state or federal)?

According to the Department of Justice, hate crimes are defined as crime that is committed in whole or in part on psychological biases based primarily on race, color, religions, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or disability. The critical distinction here is that Hate itself is not a crime. This is an important decision as law enforcement must be mindful to protect free speech while also being mindful to protect the rights of others who be adversely impacted by hate crime.

Why is it of public interest

Hate crimes are a high priority as it relates to the public interest as these crimes threaten to undermine the foundation of American society. Here, America was founded on the principles of freedom. Although, Americans history is riddled with instances where freedom was not afforded to certain communities, is the...

…particularly troubling giving the example this behavior sets for young children. This goes back to the discussion above about the importance of hates crimes to the fabric the underpins American civilization.

Who are its victims and offenders?

The victims of hate crimes where discussed in detail above. According to the statistics, offenders are actually varied. Of the 8559 offenders, roughly half of them or 3564 are white. The next group of offenders is Latin American men at 1,862. Finally black men account for the third highest rate of offenders at 1385.

What are the physical and financial costs?

The physical cost of hate crimes is difficult to quantify. For one, many hate crimes go unreported. Second the physical cost goes far beyond the damage toward properly, but also the reluctance to establish future businesses or own properties that they person otherwise would have owned prior to the crime. This opportunity cost can be costly when accounting for compound interest and the rapid rise of asset prices the country is experiencing now. According to research conducted by Gale, Heath and Ressler, hate crimes can cost society anywhere between $500 million to $1 Billion a year (Gale 2002).

What do you see as motivating our decisions?

According to the FBI statistics, racial bias has been a pervasive motivating factor for many of the hate crimes occurring recently. Sociologist Jack McDevitt and Jacek Levin also classified hate crime motivation in four main components. These components consist of thrill seeking which they believe motives 66% of hate crimes, defensive crimes which account for 25% of the motivation, retaliatory with account for 8% and mission crime which…