Hate Crime Prevention

Hate crimes occurrences are as a result of prejudice or bias against a particular group of people on the ground of ethnicity, race, religion, disability or gender. These offenses are murder, assault, harassments, and fraud. Hate crimes affect victims, communities and the society in general (Hamm, 2015). Hate crime offenders cut across all the ages as both youths and adults commit offenses. Because the offenders are both adults and adolescents, it means that people have learned to hate each other due to differences in living styles and cultural practices. There are serious concerns that hate crime incidences will never come to an end unless measures are put forth to combat these judgments made based on religion or race. In this reading, the study, therefore, discusses hate crime prevention by looking at the measures that enhance respect and maturity among the youths and adults to stop bias or prejudice against other individuals.

Prevention Measures

 The key to hate crime prevention is the provision of the necessary resources to aid in the investigation and prosecution of offenders. Funds should be given to Law courts, schools and law enforcement agencies since they possess the best values that demonstrate peace and unity (Bune, 2016). Creation of mentorship programs is also a prerequisite factor because it brings people of different cultures together where people are made aware of hate crime and its effects. Whenever the offenders of hate crime are apprehended, fear and anxiety occur on the rest of the people, and this communicates to the general society that hate crime offenses are unacceptable. Most of these hostilities occur worldwide, but they are more prevalent in places where we have people of different races or religion. For instance, racial segregation has influenced several hate crimes offenses among the African-Americans and Latinas in the United States of America (Perry, 2018). Again, islamophobia hate crime is on the rise due to religion and cultural beliefs.

These social issues are very rampant in the United States today. According to reports from the criminal justice department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, 6689 offenses were influenced by ethnicity, religion and racial segregation as per the year 2017(Bunn, 2016). Crimes that occur as a result of hostility are very traumatic and cause unrest among the affected communities (Hamm, 2015). The government through Law enforcement agencies and the judicial system need to acknowledge these problems and provide permanent solutions. The FBI report shows that violent crimes occur in every state and they vary in every country. Again, all leaders report a significant number of hate incidences in their states and, therefore, it is the responsibility of the leaders to incorporate all the communities and citizens in the eradication of hate offense (David-Ferdon, Dahlberg, & Kegler, 2015).  

Moreover, the number of crime cases in every state is more than the FBI’s statistics since its normal that some people don’t report hate offenses to the authorities. For instance, (Perry, 2018) most of the survivors of these offenses don’t report to the authorities unlike other victims affected by non-hate crimes. The reason behind this is because most of them have no confidence/ trust in the police force (David-Ferdon et al., 2015). Lesbians and bisexuals have a fear that their cases won’t be given serious attention because they possess poor relationships with the law enforcement bodies. Their strained relationship stems from the fact sexual activities attract adverse reactions and police officers are fond of charging these offenses. Besides, others are worried about victimization as a result of revenge cases after the persecution period.  They, therefore, end up suffering from the trauma associated with hatred.

To effectively solve hate crime cases, people need to familiarize themselves with causes of the problems to aid in assessment and interventions. Identification of the places most targeted by the perpetrators is essential. An example of these areas is the inner cities occupied by the African-Americans and Indians America where social segregation is rampant (Hamm, 2015). Also, it essential to interrogate the group of people who mostly face the offenses and the time of the day in which the crimes are most likely to be committed. For instance, hate crimes against Muslims have continued to rise in the last decade, and this is due to religious differences. All this information will be of great importance to the law enforcement agencies as it will help them come up with the right measures to curb the crimes. However, these measures operate to their maximum in cases where we have good relationships between the police and the communities because they give police the maximum support in investigating the crimes. Poor connections between the police and the communities may prevent crime prevention. For example, when police officers dismiss crimes without a thorough interrogation, the communities concerned will term it as ignorance, and this will reduce their participation in crime prevention as they will not be willing to engage the police again (Perry, 2018)

Furthermore, sensitivity training should be provided to all the people since it will free people from prejudgment and make them value other peoples’ beliefs, rights and opinions. Sensitivity training is of great benefit to both the offender and the victim because it provides a chance for people to interact with other communities and learn important aspects of their lives before making an informed judgment. With sensitivity training, people become more aware of personal freedom and rights, and this makes it easy for them to acknowledge other individuals lifestyle preferences and cultural beliefs and freedom of worship. Negative values towards other people are as a result of the social environment because it is from the communities where cultural beliefs are emanating (Hamm, 2015). The problem with social and cultural settings is that people are taught to uphold their own cultural beliefs, religion, and lifestyles and not to acknowledge other peoples preferences on religion or lifestyle. Even though some critics are opposed to this science of mind, it is of great importance to appreciate the role of sensitivity training in hate crime prevention as it impacts greatly on an individual’s social justice.

Government should initiate several initiatives which incorporate both the citizens and the criminal justice organizations in the fight against hate crime. Much emphasis should be put on the rehabilitation centers and not only on the prisons because it is only through the rehabilitation centers where people can enter back to society as people of ethical values and morals. Offenders should be made aware of the setbacks they experience as a result of bad decisions and the life benefits they get as a result of embracing cultural and religious differences. Campaign programs tailored to minimizing hostilities between communities should inform people that it’s only through valuing individual differences where we can improve our way of thinking and realize our life’s goals. By valuing diversity in different occupations, the level of expertise will increase, and as a result, there will be a realization of efficiency. Different kinds of people bring different ideas and these thoughts help in decision making.

Apart from the law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice department, most of the local governments have come up with different hate crime prevention programs, and as a result, other programs have promised to offer support against the fight of hate crime (Bune, 2016). By collecting information about crimes and creating the necessary measures, these programs have significantly helped in the battle against hostilities. Several initiatives such as the watch groups have enhanced better relationships between the minority communities such as the Hispanics and the police officers. These watch groups provide data about the hostilities facing minority groups and assist the police in training programs. Also, organized community groups have helped the crime victims in assessing the complicated legal procedures as well as offering moral support to those affected. Traumatization is no longer a significant threat to the minority group thanks to this group. Mental health programs have helped the mission offenders by rehabilitating them in mental health rehabilitation centers.

Moreover, media houses have exemplified their intense devotion by educating people about hostilities experienced within the communities. By encouraging crime reporting, a lot of order has been restored on the cities since they never experience trauma. Schools have also helped by teaching the importance of cultural diversity and the need for acknowledging other peoples’ religion (David-Ferdon et al., 2015). Community dialogue and hate group strategies have improved as a result of the efforts put forth by the schools. Scholars have also helped law enforcement agencies in developing the best prevention strategies. They analyze the offenses by determining the crime type as well as the possible location and embark in assisting the police department in the allocation of necessary resources. Victim organizations help the victims to cope up with the injuries as well as reinstating them back to society. 

In conclusion, people have the right to live a life free of crimes, intimidation, and discrimination against their beliefs or religion. However, this has not been possible due to the fact people are obsessed with other people’s lives instead of living their personal lives. The hatred that distorts human beings has been in existence for quite some time. That’s why the government through the judicial system and other stakeholders has established measures to counter its effects that distort human lives. However, these measures have not reduced these offenses to the desired levels. There is need therefore to continue providing education to citizens to make them aware of their rights.  Punishment on the offenders should be free from any favor or discrimination. Lastly, there are more calls on the government and the society to continue offering their support against hate crime because if there are no adequate measures, then hate crime cases will never end (Bune, 2016).

References

Bune, K. L. (2016). Law Enforcement Must Take Lead on Hate Crimes. Police Chief, 71(4), 41-46.

David-Ferdon, C., Dahlberg, L. L., & Kegler, S. R. (2015). Homicide rates among persons aged 10–24 years—United States, 1981–2010. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 62(27), 545.

Hamm, M. S. (Ed.). (2015). Hate crime: International perspectives on causes and control. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Northern Kentucky University.
Perry, B. (Ed.). (2018). Hate and bias crime: A reader. Routledge.