Wednesday, July 28, 2010

US Federal Bureau of Investigation - Civil Rights - Hate Crime

Hate Crime—Overview
Investigating hate crime is the number one priority of our Civil Rights Program. Why? Not only because hate crime has a devastating impact on families and communities, but also because groups that preach hatred and intolerance plant the seeds of terrorism here in our country.

Defining a Hate Crime

A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, Congress has defined a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." Hate itself is not a crime—and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties. Read more

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Matthew Shepard/James Byrd, Jr.,
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009

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