Reporting Hate Crime Incidents 1 Why Collect

Reporting Hate Crime Incidents 1

Why Collect Hate Crime Data? The New York State Hate Crimes Act of 2000 requires DCJS to collect and analyze demographic and statistical data with respect to the number of Hate Crimes reported to or investigated by police and peace officers.

Overview Understanding the New York State law governing Hate Crime reporting Identifying bias motivated crime Reporting Hate Crime incidents through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program

New York State Law Governing Hate Crime Reporting - PL 485. 05

Hate Crime Definition in Penal Law 485. 05 A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense and either: (a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or

Definition Continued (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.

Key Points “whole or in substantial part” The main motivation for the crime must be the identity of the victim. “belief or perception” The suspect just has to believe or perceive that the victim falls within the ten protected classes “correctness of belief or perception” The victim does not have to be in fact the identity that the suspect believed he was. “of a person” The victim does not have to be the person who is motivating the suspect.

Why Law Enforcement Professionals need to know the law… 8 Successful implementation is a crucial step in protecting people’s rights Recognition of the elements of a Hate Crime helps identify other indicators which may be used to develop and prosecute cases Proper identification of bias crime results in accurate reporting, and more effective prosecution

Identifying Bias Motivated Crime

Bias Motivated Incidents Non Criminal Conduct Motivated by Hatred, Prejudice or Bigotry Directed at individual(s), residence, house of worship, business or institution Because of the victim’s real or perceived age, gender, race, color, religion, religious practice, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, or disability Directed at Individual or Group because of association or advocacy on behalf of a member of a protected group

Bias Motivated Incidents Continued 11 Hate Speech Display of offensive materials on one’s property The distribution of hate materials in public place The posting of hate materials that does not result in property damage Bias motivated incidents are not necessarily Hate Crimes

Freedom of Speech vs. Crime A bias motivated incident becomes a Hate Crime when it is coupled with a true threat True Threat - a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals

Determining if a Crime is a Hate Crime Statements made and their order The presence of offensive symbols or words Patterns of Victimization 13 Hate Literature or other evidence of Bias Motivation

Determining if a Crime is a Hate Crime Continued Date, Time or Circumstances of the Incident Location Victim’s Perception

Identity Oriented Phrases The use of identity oriented phrases does not automatically make an event a hate crime. The absence of identity oriented phrases does not mean the event is not a hate crime.

Three questions to determine if an incident is a Hate Crime Yes to all three 1. Is the act a crime? 2. Is there evidence the crime could be identity motivated? 3. Is the evidence supportive of whole or substantial identity motivation?

Would the incident have occurred if the victim and the offender part of the same group? Helpful when victim and offender are not part of the same group Not always helpful when a Hate Crime is directed at an individual or group because of his or her association or advocacy on behalf of a member of a protected group

Documenting a Hate Crime Incident When completing the incident report: Elevate the Charge Provide Victim and Offender Demographics Indicate Bias Motivation Clearly State Elements of Bias Motivation in the SIR Narrative

Reporting Hate Crimes through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program

Hate Crime Report Form UCR and IBR agencies submit report regardless of whether or not there was an incident. Information collected from Standard Incident Report

Form Changes “Target Type Property” and “Target Type Person” data fields changed to “Location of Hate Crime” and “Type of Victim” (modified 2009) Removal of “Circumstance” data field (modified 2013)

Nothing to Report (NTR) UCR agencies should check off the Hate Crime “NTR Box” on the Return A if there is nothing to report for a particular month IBR agencies must send the Hate Crime Incident Report in and check the “NTR Box” if there is nothing to report for a particular month

Filling out the Hate Crime Incident Report Incident Date (MM/DD/YY) Agency Case Number Hate Crime Incident Classification (PL Charge) Bias Motivation Location of Hate Crime Type of Victim and Offender Demographics

Bias Motivation Gender Age Race/Color Religion/Religious Practice Ethnicity/National Origin/Ancestry Sexual Orientation Disability

Incident Information Location of Hate Crime Victim Type (Individual or Group/Organization) Demographics (Age, Gender, Race, Ethnicity)

Location of Hate Crime Place of Worship (Churches, Synagogues, etc) Other Property Owned/Operated by Target Group Public Property (School, Street, Government Building, Hospital, Jail/Prison etc. ) Business Residence Other Location

Type of Victim Individual(s) (code 72) Structured Group or Organization (code 73)

Entering Victim Demographics “Individual” (code 72), enter demographics “Structured Group or Organization” (code 73), do not enter any victim demographics Property related Hate Crimes distinguish between an individual victim and a person reporting the incident

Offender Demographics Enter all known offender demographics If offender is unknown, indicate so with a “U”

Victim and Offender Demographic Information Age Gender Race Ethnicity

Race Black White American Indian or Alaskan Native Asian or Pacific Islander 37

Ethnicity Hispanic: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish speaking culture, regardless of race. Non-Hispanic: All other people. 38

Race and Ethnicity People have both Race and Ethnicity It is important to record both the race and ethnicity of victims and offenders Individuals with an Ethnicity of Hispanic, can have a Race of White or Black

For More Information Please Contact NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services Crime Reporting Unit 1 -800 -262 -3257 Email: crimereporting@dcjs. ny. gov 44