Hate Crime Statistics and Incidence in Virginia An Advisory Memorandum of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights November 2020 Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights By law, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has established an advisory committee in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The committees are composed of state citizens who serve without compensation. The committees advise the Commission of civil rights issues in their states that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction. They are authorized to advise the Commission in writing of any knowledge or information they have of any alleged deprivation of voting rights and alleged discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or in the administration of justice; advise the Commission on matters of their state’s concern in the preparation of Commission reports to the President and the Congress; receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public officials, and representatives of public and private organizations to committee inquiries; forward advice and recommendations to the Commission, as requested; and observe any open hearing or conference conducted by the Commission in their states. Acknowledgments The Virginia Advisory Committee (Committee) thanks each of the speakers who presented to the Committee during their public meetings on this topic, and shared their personal stories and experiences. The Committee is also grateful to members of the public who spoke during the selected periods of public comment, and those who shared their testimony in writing. The Committee acknowledges the work of the 2015-2019 appointees of the Committee, who organized and heard the original testimony: K. Shiek Pal, Bruce N. Cameron, Sarah T. Combs, Vellie S. Dietrich-Hall, Claire G. Gastanaga, Patrick A. O’Reilly, Lorraine F. Waddill, Robert G. Bracknell, Angela C. Ciccolo, Edmund D. Cooke Jr., Toa Q. Do, Terrie E. Griffin, and Ryung Suh. All Committee members participated in an initial review and summary of the testimon y provided. This report was drafted and edited by a working group of Committee members , chaired by Danny Vargas. Jason Brennan served as lead author, with additional editing contributions from Ann Haney, Angela Ciccolo, and Brenda Abdelall. Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights submits this advisory memorandum regarding hate crime statistics and incidence in the state. The Committee submits this memorandum as part of its responsibility to study and report on civil rights issues in Virginia. The contents of this memorandum are primarily based on testimony the Committee heard during public meetings the Committee held on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 via teleconference, and in-person on March 29, 2019 in Washington, D.C. The Committee also includes related testimony submitted in writing during the relevant period of public comment. This memorandum presents an overview of the testimony received, identifies primary findings as they emerged from this testimony, and offers recommendations for addressing areas of related civil rights concerns. This report is intended to focus specifically on civil rights concerns regarding hate crime incidents in Virginia. While other important topics may have surfaced throughout the Committee’s inquiry, those matters that are outside the scope of this specific civil rights mandate are left for another discussion. Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights K. Shiek Pal, Chair, Virginia Advisory Committee, Arlington Angela Ciccolo, Vice Chair, Ashburn Arthur Rizer, Vice Chair, Alexandria Raul Danny Vargas, Secretary, Herndon Brenda Abdelall, Oakton William Hyde, Springfield Maria Almond, Farmville Lisalyn Jacobs, Arlington Jason Brennan, Fairfax Binh Nguyen, McLean Edgardo Cortes, Springfield Ilya Shapiro, Falls Church Ann Haney, Charlottesville Andrew Wright, Arlington Advisory Memorandum To: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights From: The Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Date: September 2020 Subject: Hate Crime Statistics and Incidence in Virginia In response to the August 11 and 12, 2017, Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA, and to news reports that hate crimes were increasing, 1 the Virginia Advisory Committee (hereafter Committee) convened two public meetings asking for expert testimony on bias incidents and hate crimes in the commonwealth and across the country. The meetings sought to identify the best practices used in defining, identifying, reporting, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes in Virginia. The Committee solicited the expert opinions of academics, law enforcement officials, community representatives, and civil rights advocates. The Committee specifically sought to understand: A. whether there has been a statistically significant increase in hate crimes and anti-bias incidents in Virginia at the state or regional levels, B. the nature and types of hate crimes/anti-bias incidents and the affected/targeted groups, C. any challenges or barriers that may prevent law enforcement from addressing hate crimes, including whether Virginia hate crime-related laws should be modified, and D. best practices that law enforcement and communities should consider implementing in order to reduce the number of hate crimes and anti-bias incidents, and to accurately tabulate the statistics on such crimes. This report summarizes the Committee’s findings, and includes: 1. An account of why hate crimes is of special interest to the Committee and US Civil Rights Commission (hereafter Commission), 2. A brief overview of the expert testimony the Committee heard in 2018 and 2019, 3. An analysis of the problem of defining the concept of hate crimes and targeted groups, 4. An analysis of the problems of data collection and hate crime measurement, 5. An analysis of whether hate crimes are increasing, 6. A summary of expert testimony on other problems with data collection and measuring hate crimes, and 7. summary of expert recommendations for best practices. 1 For instance, this news report claims that hate crimes increased from 137 in 2016 to 202 in 2017: https://www.wtkr.com/2019/04/30/hate-crimes-in-virginia-jump-almost-by-half/ 3 1. Background Virginia was the center of national attention in August 2017, when white nationalist Richard Spencer’s Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville resulted in street fighting between alt-right white nationalists and counter-protesters. White supremacist James Fields, Jr., rammed his car into a crowd of counter- protestors, killing one person and injuring nineteen more. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring further claimed that there was a rise in hate crimes in Virginia, and launched the No Hate VA campaign to raise awareness of and combat this trend. 2 According to the FBI and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, hate crimes are defined as “crimes committed against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.” 3 Thus, establishing that a hate crime has been committed imposes a significant evidentiary burden. One must not only establish that a crime has been committed, but also must prove that the perpetrator committed the crime because of bias. 4 (See § 3 below.) Hate crimes affect the broader community in ways other crimes do not. Democracies are committed to equality and inclusivity. Hate crimes both demonstrate and results from ongoing divisions and prejudices among the public. Hate crimes threaten to reduce inclusion, create mutual animosity and distrust, and impede the proper functioning of democratic government. 2. Overview of Testimony The Committee sought testimony from a range of stakeholders, including members of federal and state law enforcement, academic researchers at Virginian and other universities, and representatives from various NGOs working on racial or identity issues. The Committee sought a diverse range of perspectives and methods, including testimony on theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative matters. Panelists were chosen to testify based upon their professional experience, academic research, subject matter expertise, and firsthand knowledge of the topics at hand. Experts included the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League; a statistician from the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the US Department of Justice; the Commonwealth Attorney for Charlottesville; a policy analyst at the Arab American Institute; a sociologist from Virginia Commonwealth University; the executive director of the Charlottesville Branch of Organizing Virginia; the head of outreach for the All Dulles Area Muslim Society; a law professor from Indiana University; a criminal justice professor from California State University at San Bernardino; a law professor from Georgetown University; the National Program Manager for Muslim, Arab, South Asian, Sikh and Hindu communities, at the US Department of Justice Community Relations Service; and the Dean of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. An attached addendum provides a thematic summary of each experts’ testimony. The Committee has not attempted to fact-check or verify these experts’ claims. Without discounting any testimony heard, 2 https://www.oag.state.va.us/programs-initiatives/no-hate-va 3 https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/civil-rights/hate-crimes; https://www.oag.state.va.us/programs-initiatives/no-