NCJ Number
232738
Date Published
2010
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This chapter adds to existing knowledge about hate-crime offenders based on data from the FBI's National Incident-Based Report System (NIBRS), a relatively underused data source, and it reconsiders what is known about offender motivation based on new data and events.
Abstract
This analysis of NIBRS data supports much of the previous literature on hate-crime offenders. They are most likely to be White males who may be acquaintances or neighbors of the victim, but are not close friends with the victim. Hate-crime offenders are most likely to attack a victim who is alone, and they seldom use weapons. In comparing hate-motivated assaults to assaults not motivated primarily by hate, hate-motivated assaults were more likely to involve juveniles and were twice as likely to result in injury to the victim. Hate crimes in general were unlikely to result in arrests of the offenders; and hate-motivated assaults were less likely to result in arrest than assaults not motivated by hate. Based on the analysis, there is often only one offender identified by the victim in the hate crime. This chapter suggests expanding culpability categories to include those individuals who encourage, empower, or aid the offender in the actual attack. The chapter also reviews the various typologies proposed for hate-crime offenders and how they have evolved through relevant research and changing historical and cultural events. 3 tables, 1 note, and 21 references