NCJ Number
190449
Journal
Alaska Justice Forum Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2001 Pages: 1-8
Date Published
2001
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of 1999 hate crime data and statutes for Alaska.
Abstract
In Alaska, only the Anchorage Police Department (APD) participates in the FBI crime reporting program. At APD, records personnel determine whether to report an incident as a hate crime and what data to enter. Records personnel derive this information from the reports filed by individual officers who respond to a call or investigate an incident. If there is doubt about whether to classify an incident as a hate crime, the decision is referred to the captain of investigations. For 1999, racial bias was by far the most common bias involved in hate crimes reported. Of the 4,295 incidents for which racial bias was noted, 2,958 (68.9 percent) were designated as anti-Black. There were 1,411 incidents in which a religious bias was determined, and 1,317 showed a sexual-orientation bias. Among the incidents of religious bias, 78.6 percent were anti-Jewish, and anti-male homosexual incidents involved 69.4 percent of the incidents with sexual-orientation bias. Over two-thirds of the hate crimes were against persons, with 50 percent categorized as intimidation. A little less than one-third of the total number of hate crimes consisted of property crimes, with the majority listed as destruction/damage/vandalism. Following a discussion of the development of hate crime laws nationwide at the Federal and State levels, this article outlines Alaska hate crime laws. The article advises that generally bias crime statutes were being challenged in the courts based on the constitutional issues of freedom of speech and due process. 4 tables and 1 figure