THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A HATE CRIME OFFENDER

            The most general definition of a hate crime is a violent act against people, property, or an organization because of the group to which they identify themselves with.  It can be further characterized as plain bigotry.  Earlier in this decade, the federal government began making the distinction of crimes committed because of differences between the offender and the victim.  There are several classifications of hate crimes, but for the purpose of this paper, the focus is on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

            When characterizing the hate crime offender, it is beneficial to look at both the psychological and sociological factors.  What is it about the offender that caused him/her to commit the crime.  How does the offender’s society factor into his/her decision to violate the rights of another because that person is different from the offender.  The purpose of this paper is to identify who commits hate crimes and why.

            Explaining the factors behind hate crimes can be found in three basic motivations.  In some cases the perpetrator is set off by a desire for excitement, or provoked by a need to protect their surroundings, or a mission from a greater source to cleanse the world from impurities.  These factors are explained in detail from the perspective of J. Levitt and McDevitt.

LITERATURE REVIEW

            Researchers who study hate crimes from the psychological and sociological perspective have concluded that the majority of offenders are not organized radical groups, but young individuals (BJS 1997).  These perpetrators act out their own negative attitudes and emotions concerning those who are perceived different for them.  J. Levin and McDevitt found three primary motivations in hate crime offenders: thrill seeking, defensive, and mission (1999).  In their study, Levin and McDevitt concluded that bigotry was the underlying factor enhanced by the psychological and sociological conditions of the offender.

            Thrill seeking hate crime offenders commit their crimes for the sole purpose of the excitement.  It is assumed that thrill seeking hate crimes have their beginnings from the adolescent needs of the offender (Franklin 2002).  Many thrill seekers are bored and look for excitement at someone else’s expense.  This type of offender finds enjoyment scouting out gay bars, different ethic background communities as well as minority neighborhoods for someone to terrorize, just as some find enjoyment cruising the towns popular strip.  So the question becomes, what is thrilling about attacking someone who is different?  Levitt and McDevitt say it is both psychological and social.  While in elementary school and sometimes throughout high school, a person finds amusement bullying kids who are perceived different in several ways.  They begin picking on the obese kid, the small Chinese girl who speaks little English, and eventually to all everyone they come in contact with who are different.  The offender gets a stamp of approval from his/her friends who believe it is exciting to torture people that are different.  The offender also feels that he/she has gained a higher state of importance and power within his/her society (1999).

            For investigators, proving that there was biased intention is based upon the evidence that surrounds both the crime scene and the perpetrator.  The basic indicators of bias are: the offenders’ use of slurs or epithets, the offenders’ history of violence and/or bias, the presence of bias graffiti, and the location of the attack (Bennett 2002).

            Some hate crime offenders believe that they are protecting themselves and sometimes their community from those who intrude and pose a serious threat.  Karen Franklin, PhD conducted a study on crime against sexual minorities and found that the offenders believed that homosexuals were predators and that they must defend themselves against those sexual predators (2000).  However, defense motivated hate crimes are not limited to the sexual minorities, it is found in crimes against race and ethnic groups.

            Most hate crime offenders who attack different race and ethnic groups do so to protect their neighborhoods from outsiders.  They feel that they are obligated to protect their livelihood from someone who is believed to take over what is rightfully theirs (Levitt and McDevitt 1999).  A prime example of such crime is a situation where an African-American family moves into a predominately white neighborhood in the suburbs.  The family is attacked by a white person or persons from the neighborhood.  The attack is defended by the perpetrator based on his/her fear of losing the good neighborhood to outcast.  Another example is the attacks on Hispanics.  They are attacked by others on the fear of losing jobs to those who will provide cheap labor.  These attacks ultimately send a message to the larger group of people.  When a group is attacked in this way, it tells others that they are unwelcome in the neighborhood, at work, or any place.

            It has been mentioned that most hate crimes offenders are individuals but describing the next motivation of hate crimes, the majority of offenders are part of an organized group.  These offenders are on a mission.  In order to fulfill this mission, they seek the help of larger organizations who have the same ideas (Herek and Berrill 1992).  The mission offenders feel that they have to rage war on all people who do not share the same characteristics.  He/she believes that in order to make the world a better place, they must eliminate those who threaten the culture, economy, and purity of the world (Bennett 2002).  These offenders feel no emotion or remorse for their victims.  They believe that are subhuman and an overall threat to society (APA 1998).

RESEARCH METHODS

            In 1995, law enforcement agencies reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the number of known offenders of hate crimes.  The following two tables describe the suspected offenders race and the frequency of offender motivation.

Number of Known Offenders by Race, 1995

Frequency of Offender Motivation

The next table shows some of the characteristics of the three hate crime offenders by motivation.

Characteristics of Hate Crimes by Motivation of the Offender

In a 1998 Hate Crime Report submitted by the Chicago Police Department, the majority of hate crimes were committed by Black and White Males.  The following chart breaks down offenders into race and sex.

Hate Crime Offenders by Sex and Race

    Another interesting aspect of hate crimes are the types of hate crimes reported.  The following table shows the types of hate crimes reported in Chicago in the 1998 Hate Crime Report.  Assault and Battery are the most common.

Reported Hate Crimes by Type

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

    This research shows a possible correlation between a hate crime offender and the community in which he/she lives.  Thrill motivated offenders are typically bored and seek excitement at another=s expense.  The payoff for the assailant is some sort of Apower@ knighted to him/her by his/her community.  Defense motivated hate crime offenders Adefend@ their community from something they feel is a threatening situation or condition.  Mission hate crime offenders seek out a subculture who emphasize his/her beliefs of pushing out a particularly different group of people through violence.  It also shows that white men are more out to commit hate crimes than any other race.  The majority of reported hate crimes committed are assault and battery.  The strongest motivator is for the thrill.

    Research on hate crimes is limited because it was only within the past ten years that the federal government began to distinguish between traditional offenses and those manifested by prejudice.  Each state differs in the way hate crimes are reported and defined.  Adding these limitations together, it is a reasonable assumption that the actual statistical information on hate crime offenders is inaccurate.  Other reasons hate crime research is limited is the idea that victims fear the criminal justice system is biased against his/her group as well.  Another limitation on hate crime statistics is the criminal justice system stereotyping crimes as hate crimes because of the race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation of the victim verses that of the offender.  This will cause some traditional offenses to be classified as a hate crime when in reality it may not have been.  As researchers have pointed out numerous times, it is hard to prove bias.

References

Aho, James A. (1994).  This Thing of Darkness:  A Sociology of the Enemy.  Seattle: University of Washington Press.

American Psychological Association(APA).  AHate Crimes Today:  An Age-Old Foe in Modern Dress.@  (1998)  http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/hate.html 

Bennett, Susan.  (2002).  AHate Crime Offenders:  An Expanded Typology.@  Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 303-15.

Button, J.W., Reinzo, B.A., Wald, K.D. (1996).  AThe Politics of Gay Rights in American             Communities:  Explaining Anti-discrimination Ordinances and Policies.@  American Journal of Political Science. 40(4), 1152-178.

Franklin, Karen.  APsychosocial Motivations of Hate Crime Perpetrators:  Implications for Prevention and Policy.@  American Psychological Association.  (2002).

            http://www.apa.org/ppo/issues/pfranklin.html

Herek, G.M., & Berrill, K.T. (1992).  Hate Crimes:  Confronting Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men.  Newbury Park, CA:  Sage Publications.

Kressel, N.J. (1996).  Mass Hate:  The Global Rise Of Genocide and Terror.  New York:  Plenum Press.

[Comments: Good paragraph structure, and a pretty good start, maybe with too much depth in the beginning.  You may want to back off and write some softer Intro material for the reader.] [I pasted your new Intro, and lit review] [Comments: good tables in Pt 3, but could use some more explanatory text.]
[Comments: I got your Part 4, with references. Students have one more chance to edit or revise their final document before the end of class.]

Last updated: 11/25/02