Essay On Hate Crimes

The United States of America has a long dark history in terms of racism, from the civil war to World War II minority groups have been the target of crimes of hatred and prejudice. From public lynching, cross burning, arson to vandalism are just some of the tactics used by hate groups to display their prejudice. According to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) the term hate crime was not used until the 1980s, however investigations conducted by the FBI on hate related crime stretches far back to the First World War, on the group called the Ku Klux Klan attracted their attention. The department of justice defines a hate crime as “Hate crime is the violence of intolerance and bigotry, intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religious, sexual orientation, or disability. The purveyors of hate use explosives, arson, weapons, vandalism, physical violence, and verbal threats of violence to instill fear in their victims, leaving them vulnerable to more attacks and feeling alienated, helpless, suspicious and fearful.” Communities such as people of color and LGBT are two groups that had been overwhelming impacted from white supremacist groups and anti-gay group. Crimes motivated by hatred have led to legislation that requires the tracking of statistical data to gather information and
This group of young people are very susceptible in getting involved with hate groups, since teens want to be accepted in social group and struggle with peer pressure. There has been suggestion to accomplish prevention of hate crime; a start should be stopping the recruitment of juveniles to hate groups by using the data from the UCR. The data can identify the causation of hate crime to intervene and educate at risk juveniles and young adults. Rising awareness within this age group, early on can address misconceptions and perception of people who are