Hate Crimes
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- Date Submitted: 12/23/2012 11:01 AM
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Hate Crime Analysis
Inigo Francis
AJS/542
November 12, 2012
Yehuda Packer
Abstract
The following paper will discuss the motives of an individual and the people that may be targeted by their deviance. What causes an individual to deviate from the norms of society will be discussed along with the effects it has on an individual and members of the community. At last this paper will look at laws and education that may be useful in minimizing the occurrence of these deviances.
Hate Crimes – Cause and Effects
Hate crimes it seems are the newest deviances in our social justice vocabulary. Specific hate crime statutes started being passed by state legislatures in the late 80’s following research that showed an escalation of crime that was triggered by prejudice. Emile Durkheim proposed the structural-functional approach to deviance saying that it is a necessary function to set and affirm our moral boundaries. But what is a hate crime; do we need a special classification for them and what type of individual would commit these acts?
Crimes that are committed due to prejudices of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and other reasons are said to be hate motivated. Unfortunately, the federal government and the thirty plus states that have hate crime statutes cannot come together to agree or precisely define its meaning. This confusion exists because of the first amendment rights to free speech and the difficulty in regulating individual’s beliefs. To find out who the social deviants are who commit hate crimes, we can look at the profiles generated law enforcement, researchers, activists, and judicial officials. Most offenders are individuals, not members of groups and nationally, most of these individuals are males in their late teens to early twenties. Most of these are at youth at risk that do not have a supportive family environment. They come from broken or single parent homes and they lack a sense of identity. They are characterized by either a low...
Inigo Francis
AJS/542
November 12, 2012
Yehuda Packer
Abstract
The following paper will discuss the motives of an individual and the people that may be targeted by their deviance. What causes an individual to deviate from the norms of society will be discussed along with the effects it has on an individual and members of the community. At last this paper will look at laws and education that may be useful in minimizing the occurrence of these deviances.
Hate Crimes – Cause and Effects
Hate crimes it seems are the newest deviances in our social justice vocabulary. Specific hate crime statutes started being passed by state legislatures in the late 80’s following research that showed an escalation of crime that was triggered by prejudice. Emile Durkheim proposed the structural-functional approach to deviance saying that it is a necessary function to set and affirm our moral boundaries. But what is a hate crime; do we need a special classification for them and what type of individual would commit these acts?
Crimes that are committed due to prejudices of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and other reasons are said to be hate motivated. Unfortunately, the federal government and the thirty plus states that have hate crime statutes cannot come together to agree or precisely define its meaning. This confusion exists because of the first amendment rights to free speech and the difficulty in regulating individual’s beliefs. To find out who the social deviants are who commit hate crimes, we can look at the profiles generated law enforcement, researchers, activists, and judicial officials. Most offenders are individuals, not members of groups and nationally, most of these individuals are males in their late teens to early twenties. Most of these are at youth at risk that do not have a supportive family environment. They come from broken or single parent homes and they lack a sense of identity. They are characterized by either a low...