An Analysis Comparing the Severity of Injury Among Hate Crimes of Differing Bias Types

• In Event: Hate Crime Victimization Across Groups

Abstract

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Mathew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Protection act thereby extended the list of previously protected subgroups from actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, disability and sex orientation to gender and gender identity. Indeed, over 43 states and the federal government now include hate crime statutes many of which increase penalties when offenders perpetrate hate conduct against specially protected victims referenced above. Penalty enhancement statutes are based on the idea that unlawful bias conduct results in more severe injuries to victims relative to comparable non-bias conduct injuries. We contend that not all bias crime injuries are equal in severity. Data on bias crimes (hate crimes) will be analyzed from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). General descriptive patterns of bias crimes are identified by types of offense and bias motivation including both violent and property crime and major and minor injuries. Multivariate analyses will focus on crimes of violence, and seek to identify factors that increase the risk for injury to victims. Hate crimes will be analyzed by specific bias types (i.e. Anti-Gay) to determine which are significantly more likely to result in serious injury to the victim.

Authors

• Matthew Fetzer, Shippensburg University

• Frank S. Pezzella, John Jay College of Criminal Justice