Hate Crime Statistics, 1999
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FOREWORD The diversity of its people makes the United States a unique nation. However, when crimes are committed because of our differences, the effects can reverberate beyond a single person or group into an entire community, city, or society as a whole. These crimes, committed because of a bias against race, religion, disability, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, are not limited to cities of a particular size or a region of the country, but occur in communities of all sizes throughout the country. In an attempt to determine the scope and nature of hate crime, the Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects statistics on these incidents. However, data in publications such as Hate Crime Statistics are only a numerical representation that cannot mea- sure the fear, pain, and suffering of victims. Law enforcement agencies play a major role in informing the entire criminal justice system, researchers, academics, and the general public of hate crimes. The hate crime data collection program began with a sample of 11 states in 1990 and has grown to cover more than 12,000 agencies in 48 states that submit data covering 85 percent of the country. Without input from these agencies, this publication would be ineffective. Contributing law enforcement agen- cies should be commended for their efforts, and all law enforcement agencies are encouraged to participate. The program is not aimed at placing the towns or cities of participating agencies under a microscope, but rather to collect information on hate crimes. For once a problem is identified and acknowledged, only then is it possible to study, understand, and combat it. The national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program would like to hear from you. The staff at the national UCR Program are continuously striving to improve our publications. We would appreciate it if the primary user of this publication would complete the evaluation form at the end of this book and either mail it to us at the indicated address or fax it to 304-625-5394. Contents Introduction 1 Methodology 3 Section I—Hate Crime Statistics 5 Table 1—Number of Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders By Bias Motivation, 1999 7 Table 2—Location of Incidents By Bias Motivation, 1999 8 Table 3—Number of Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders By Offense, 1999 9 Table 4—Number of Offenses by Bias Motivation and Offense Type, 1999 10 Table 5—Number of Offenses by Bias Motivation and Association to Known Offender’s Race, 1999 12 Table 6—Number of Offenses by Offense Type and Known Offender’s Race, 1999 13 Table 7—Percent Distribution of Offenses by Victim Type, 1999 13 Table 8—Number of Offenses by State, 1999 14 Table 9—Number of Victims by Bias Motivation and Offense Type, 1999 16 Table 10—Percent Distribution of Incidents by Bias Motivation and Victim Type, 1999 18 Table 11—Number of Known Offenders by Race, 1999 18 Section II—Jurisdictional Hate Crime Statistics 19 Table 12—Number of Agencies Reporting Hate Crime Incidents by State, 1999 20 Table 13—Number of Hate Crime Incidents by Bias Motivation and State and Agency Type, 1999 21 Table 14—Agencies Submitting Zero Hate Crime Incidents by State and Agency Type, 1999 46 Appendix—Directory of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs 118 iii INTRODUCTION Background of a hate crime, the nature of the offense, and the With the passage of the Hate Crime Statistics number and types of the victim(s) and offender(s). Act of 1990, Congress mandated the collection of While identifying the criteria that distinguish hate information about crimes motivated by a bias against a crimes from other offenses, the parties involved in the person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, and/or developmental phase of the Hate Crime Data Collec- ethnicity/national origin. Commissioned by the Attor- tion Program recognized that hate crimes are not ney General and aided by several local and state law separate, distinct crimes; instead, they are traditional enforcement agencies already investigating and collect- offenses motivated by the offender’s bias. An of- ing information about hate crimes, the FBI’s Uniform fender, for example, may damage or vandalize prop- Crime Reporting (UCR) Program developed a data erty because of his/her bias against the owner’s collection system for that purpose. Hate Crime (victim’s) race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/ Statistics, 1990: A Resource Book was the first national origin, or disability. Therefore, rather than publication that made available the hate crime data create new crime categories, Program developers collected in 1990 by 11 individual states. Once the decided that collecting additional information about national UCR Program implemented a uniform data crimes currently being reported to the UCR Program collection method, the 1992 edition of Hate Crime would fulfill the directives addressed in the Hate Crime Statistics premiered the data reported by law en- Statistics Act as amended. forcement agencies across the Nation. Because motivation is subjective, it is difficult Bias against persons with disabilities became to know with certainty whether a crime was the result an element of hate crime data collection guidelines with of the offender’s bias. Law enforcement investigation the enactment of the Violent Crime and Law Enforce- is imperative in that it must reveal sufficient evidence as ment Act of 1994, which amended the Hate Crime to whether the offender’s actions were motivated, in Statistics Act. (Actual collection of data from disabil- whole or in part, by bias. For this reason, the success ity bias-motivated crimes began on January 1, 1997.) of the Program rests with the local law enforcement Another amendment followed in July 1996 when the agency’s participation in reporting bias-motivated Church Arson Prevention Act was signed into law, offenses so that this information can be forwarded to removing the sunset clause from the original statute the state and subsequently to the national Program. and permanently extending the data collection man- The International Association of Chiefs of date. The FBI shares its commitment to make hate Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the former crime data collection a permanent part of the UCR UCR Data Providers’ Advisory Policy Board (now Program with each law enforcement agency that is a part of the Criminal Justice Information Services voluntary participant of the Program. Advisory Policy Board), the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Collection Design Training, and the Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs have all endorsed the Hate Crime The goal of the Hate Crime Statistics Act and Data Collection Program. Without their support and its subsequent amendments is to capture information law enforcement’s voluntary data collection, any effort about the type of bias serving as the motivating factor toward the successful implementation of the Program would be futile. 1 Participation their respective state UCR Programs (see Appendix) that forwarded the state’s information to the national In 1999, nearly 17,000 law enforcement Program. Participating agencies in states without state agencies nationwide reported data to the UCR UCR Programs sent their data directly to the FBI. Program. A total of 12,122 law enforcement agencies Collectively, these agencies represented nearly 233 in 48 states and the District of Columbia submitted million people in the United States, approximately 85 summary or incident-based reports to the Hate Crime percent of the population. Though the reports from Data Collection Program. The table below shows the these agencies are insufficient to allow valid national or number of agencies represented within each popula- regional measure of the volume and types of crimes tion group and the extent of the population covered. motivated by hate, they offer perspectives on the Of those participating agencies, most sent their data to general nature of hate crime occurrence. Number of Agencies by Population Group, 1999 Population Number of Population group participating agencies covered Total 12,122 232,829,887 Group I (Cities 250,000 and over) 63 46,170,286 Group II (Cities 100,000 - 249,999) 138 20,181,077 Group III (Cities 50,000 - 99,999) 352 24,009,970 Group IV (Cities 25,000 - 49,999) 662 22,751,314 Group V (Cities 10,000 - 24,999) 1,521 23,964,721 Group VI 1 (Cities under 10,000) 6,036 19,908,509 Suburban Counties2 1,111 50,935,884 Rural Counties 2 2,239 24,908,126 1Includes universities and colleges to which no population is attributed. 2Includes state police agencies and other agencies to which no population is attributed. Historically, the law enforcement community collection of hate crime statistics at the local level, law has recognized that valid information is central to enforcement agencies have the ability to heighten the developing effective measures to deal with crime; the awareness and the understanding of bias-motivated same is true for bias-motivated crime. Through the crimes both locally and nationwide. 2 METHODOLOGY Data Reporting In NIBRS, the hate crime data element applies to all 46 Group “A” Offenses, which include In accordance with the Hate Crime Statistics the previously mentioned 11 offense categories. The Act and its subsequent amendments, the Uniform remaining 35 Group “A” Offenses not listed are Crime Reporting (UCR) Program compiles data reported in this publication as other or as crimes regarding crimes motivated by racial, religious, disabil- against society, whichever is appropriate. ity, sexual-orientation, and ethnicity/national origin biases. City, county, and state law enforcement Data Compilation agencies may submit hate crime data to the UCR Program using the Quarterly Hate Crime Report Form Once the UCR Program receives the data, or the hate crime data element for the National Inci- they are compiled in tables and discussed in narrative dent-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).