Hate Crimes

Hate crime is defined as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated by prejudice against a race, religion, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. The term hate crime was introduced in the late 1970s by civil rights advocates, activists, and journalists to describe a series of violent acts perpetrated against African Americans, Asians, and Jews. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates a national annual average of 191,000 incidents reported to the police. This number may be underestimated, as only 44% of incidents are reported to the police.

There are four primary categories of hate crime motivation: (1) thrill seeking, which involves a desire for excitement through criminal activity (66% of incidents); (2) defensive, which involves protecting a community from perceived outsiders (25% of incidents); (3) ...