Hate Crime in NYC, 2000-2004
Interesting piece in the NYTimes about hate crime from Sunday. It's short, and the URL will expire, so I include the entire text here:
Breaking Down Hate Crime
By JO CRAVEN McGINTY
When a group of white men attacked three black men on the streets of Howard Beach, Queens, last month, severely beating one with a baseball bat, it was the 125th hate crime in New York this year, according to records collected by the Police Department.
The attack echoed an assault from nearly 20 years earlier when another group of white men armed with bats chased three black men through the same neighborhood, causing the death of one victim, who ran in front of a car while trying to escape.
In one notable difference, two suspects in the latest attack have been charged with first-degree assault as a hate crime — a provision that did not exist in New York until the Hate Crimes Act of 2000. That law, for the first time, allowed harsher sentences for criminals who single out victims because of personal traits like sexual orientation, race or religion. As a result, these suspects, if convicted, would face a minimum penalty of eight years in prison — compared with a five-year minimum for regular assault.
Since 2000, the city’s 23-member Hate Crimes Task Force has investigated nearly 2,000 crimes and determined that 95 percent of them were motivated by hate, including 20 percent that involved physical attacks.
But, like all crime, hate crimes have decreased, dropping 44 percent from 2000 through 2004, with physical attacks decreasing by nearly half.
Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood of the Hate Crimes Task Force attributed the trend to several factors: The Hate Crimes Act, which he said put people on notice; the existence of the task force, which has operated since 1980; and the resolution of high-profile hate crimes, including the first Howard Beach attacks; the 1989 shooting death of a black teenager in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; and the 1991 stabbing death of a Hasidic Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
“There’s been a modification of human behavior in New York over the last 10 or 12 years,” Inspector Osgood said. “People are just behaving better in the city.”
The article also includes a couple of decent graphics, but blogger didn't seem to want to load those, so you'll have to track those down yourself if you want to see them.
This bit of reporting on hate crimes interesting for a few reasons. First of all, it's framed around the most recent Howard Beach incident which is getting a lot of press locally, while another hate crime that happened just days before and left the victim in much worse condition, is not getting much press at all. The difference? The incident *not* getting much coverage was an intraracial, homophobic incident. The incident in Howard Beach features a big, beefy white guy who, frankly, just looks the part of hate crime perp. Secondly, I find the complete absence of any mention of the Internet noteworthy. On the face of it, one could say that as Internet participation in hate groups goes up, hate crimes are simultaneously trending in the other direction. Correlation, I know, not causation, but interesting nevertheless. And, the distinction between hate online and hate crimes is an important one to keep in mind, and one that is lost in much of the literature on hate. Finally, the patterns of hate crimes in the city are interesting. According to the article, the majority of hate crimes are anti-semitic and occur in the Brooklyn's 61st precinct, home of the largest Hasidic neighborhood, Borough Park. This makes me wonder if there is a greater likelihood of reporting bias crimes in this community, or if the incidents are, in fact, actually higher there. If they are, then this raises questions about the relative safety of 'enclave' neighborhoods, such as Borough Park.
Breaking Down Hate Crime
By JO CRAVEN McGINTY
When a group of white men attacked three black men on the streets of Howard Beach, Queens, last month, severely beating one with a baseball bat, it was the 125th hate crime in New York this year, according to records collected by the Police Department.
The attack echoed an assault from nearly 20 years earlier when another group of white men armed with bats chased three black men through the same neighborhood, causing the death of one victim, who ran in front of a car while trying to escape.
In one notable difference, two suspects in the latest attack have been charged with first-degree assault as a hate crime — a provision that did not exist in New York until the Hate Crimes Act of 2000. That law, for the first time, allowed harsher sentences for criminals who single out victims because of personal traits like sexual orientation, race or religion. As a result, these suspects, if convicted, would face a minimum penalty of eight years in prison — compared with a five-year minimum for regular assault.
Since 2000, the city’s 23-member Hate Crimes Task Force has investigated nearly 2,000 crimes and determined that 95 percent of them were motivated by hate, including 20 percent that involved physical attacks.
But, like all crime, hate crimes have decreased, dropping 44 percent from 2000 through 2004, with physical attacks decreasing by nearly half.
Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood of the Hate Crimes Task Force attributed the trend to several factors: The Hate Crimes Act, which he said put people on notice; the existence of the task force, which has operated since 1980; and the resolution of high-profile hate crimes, including the first Howard Beach attacks; the 1989 shooting death of a black teenager in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; and the 1991 stabbing death of a Hasidic Jew in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
“There’s been a modification of human behavior in New York over the last 10 or 12 years,” Inspector Osgood said. “People are just behaving better in the city.”
The article also includes a couple of decent graphics, but blogger didn't seem to want to load those, so you'll have to track those down yourself if you want to see them.
This bit of reporting on hate crimes interesting for a few reasons. First of all, it's framed around the most recent Howard Beach incident which is getting a lot of press locally, while another hate crime that happened just days before and left the victim in much worse condition, is not getting much press at all. The difference? The incident *not* getting much coverage was an intraracial, homophobic incident. The incident in Howard Beach features a big, beefy white guy who, frankly, just looks the part of hate crime perp. Secondly, I find the complete absence of any mention of the Internet noteworthy. On the face of it, one could say that as Internet participation in hate groups goes up, hate crimes are simultaneously trending in the other direction. Correlation, I know, not causation, but interesting nevertheless. And, the distinction between hate online and hate crimes is an important one to keep in mind, and one that is lost in much of the literature on hate. Finally, the patterns of hate crimes in the city are interesting. According to the article, the majority of hate crimes are anti-semitic and occur in the Brooklyn's 61st precinct, home of the largest Hasidic neighborhood, Borough Park. This makes me wonder if there is a greater likelihood of reporting bias crimes in this community, or if the incidents are, in fact, actually higher there. If they are, then this raises questions about the relative safety of 'enclave' neighborhoods, such as Borough Park.
posted by Jessie Daniels at
7:40 AM
