NCJ Number
199745
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 72 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2003 Pages: 21-25
Date Published
March 2003
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article informs law enforcement officers about how to best investigate hate or bias crimes.
Abstract
Since the United States Congress signed the Hate Crime Statistics Act into law on April 23, 1990, it has become imperative for law enforcement officers to know the guidelines and steps that are involved in an effective hate/bias crime response and investigation. The author underscores the necessity of officers involved in hate crime investigations to demonstrate compassion toward the victim. One of the first steps an officer must take in the investigation is to correctly identify the crime as a hate/bias crime. Eleven questions are offered that should be answered in ascertaining whether a crime is actually a hate crime, such as ascertaining whether the victim is a member of a targeted class and whether the victim and the perpetrator belong to different groups. Next, the author contends that hate crimes, offenders, and their motivations generally fit within five classifications: thrill seeking, organized, missionary, reactive, or identity conflict. Once a crime has been correctly identified as a hate crime, interviewing the victim becomes an essential part of the investigation. Since hate crimes are uniquely violent and traumatic, it becomes necessary to know effective and compassionate interviewing techniques that are designed to elicit accurate information from the victim while demonstrating compassion and sensitivity toward the victim. The author offers tips to help law enforcement officers conduct these interviews, including interviewing the victim in a private setting and allowing the victim plenty of time to answer questions at their own pace. The goal of the hate crime investigation is to remove the criminal from the community; this must happen in conjunction with Federal agencies because hate crimes are Federal offenses. 4 Endnotes