New statistics from the Virginia State Police shed new light on the rise of anti-semitism in the Commonwealth. The rise of hate crimes is a disturbing trend we are seeing around the country and across the world. This article will help break down what a hate crime is and the history of how they came to be investigated.
According to the FBI, the agency has investigated hate crimes as far back as World War I, and the role only increased following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Before then, the federal government took the position that the protection of civil rights was a local function, not a federal one.
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The FBI defines a hate crime as a traditional offense like murder, arson or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, the FBI has defined a hate crime in the following way: “A criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity. Hate itself is not a crime, and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties.”
The Department of Justice defines “hate” in the term “hate crime” as bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law. The DOJ says “hate” can be misleading as it does not mean rage, anger or general dislike.
Hate crimes have a broader effect than most other kinds of crime. Hate crime victims include not only the crime’s immediate target but also others like them. Hate crimes affect families communiteis and at times the entire nation.
Experts estimate an average of 250,000 hate crimes were committed each year between 2004 and 2015 in the United States, a majority of which were not reported to law enforcement.
The Virginia Attorney General’s Office website has the following resources and outreach at No Hate VA.