Law Enforcement's Role in Combatting Hate Crimes in the U.S.
This paper examines the role of the law enforcement community in combatting hate crimes in the United States. It reviews the background and prevalence of hate crimes, drawing on FBI statistics from 1995 through 2013, and analyzes trends across categories including race, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. The paper surveys key federal legislation—from the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 through the Matthew Shepard–James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009—and discusses how these statutes have expanded the federal government's prosecutorial authority. It also explores community policing strategies, interagency collaboration, and social media monitoring as tools available to local law enforcement agencies in addressing hate crime.
- Introduction: Framing the scope and purpose of the paper
- Background and Overview of Hate Crimes: FBI statistics, trends, and definitions of hate crimes
- Controlling Legislation: Federal hate crime laws from 1871 to 2009
- Role of the Law Enforcement Community: Enforcement strategies, community policing, and case examples
- Conclusion: Summary of findings and outlook on future enforcement
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its argument in FBI statistical data spanning nearly two decades, giving quantitative weight to qualitative claims about hate crime trends.
- Balances competing perspectives by presenting both advocates of stronger hate crime laws and critics who argue such laws are redundant or politically motivated.
- Connects abstract legislative history to concrete, recent prosecutorial examples, making the law enforcement section practically relevant.
- Uses a well-placed epigraph from Senator Kennedy to frame the paper's moral stakes before the analysis begins.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of primary data (FBI reports), secondary legal scholarship, and policy commentary to build a layered argument. Rather than relying on a single source type, the author triangulates across government data, law review articles, and journalism to support each claim, a technique that strengthens credibility and shows breadth of research.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing quotation and a brief introduction that previews the paper's three analytical sections. The body is organized logically: a background section establishing the scope and nature of hate crimes, a legislation section tracing the historical and statutory framework, and a law enforcement section describing enforcement roles and strategies. A conclusion synthesizes findings and offers a measured outlook on future trends.
Introduction
"Hate crimes are a form of domestic terrorism. They send the poisonous message that some Americans deserve to be victimized solely because of who they are. Like other acts of terrorism, hate crimes have an impact far greater than the impact on the individual victims. They are crimes against entire communities, against the whole nation, and against the fundamental ideals on which America was founded. They are a violation of all our country stands for." — Senator Edward Kennedy, Remarks on the Matthew Shepard Act (September 25, 2007)
The epigraph above is a useful description of the monumental impact that hate crimes can have on American society and underscores the importance of the law enforcement community in combatting these crimes. Although there were some high-profile hate crimes committed in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the actual number of hate crimes committed in the United States over the past decade or so — with the exception of sexual orientation-related hate crimes — has actually decreased. To determine the facts, this paper reviews the literature to provide a background and overview of the hate crime problem in the United States, the controlling legislation that has been enacted to address the problem, and the role of the law enforcement community in combatting hate crimes. A summary of the research and important findings concerning recent trends in hate crime law enforcement are provided in the paper's conclusion.
References
Brunker, M., Alba, M., & Dedmon, B. (2014, April 16). Hate crime in America by the numbers. NBCNews. Retrieved from
Dredge, P. (2009, October 19). Justice Department lends a hand to police in fight against hate crimes. Nation's Cities Weekly, 21(42), 3–5.
Heriot, G. (2009, May 15). Double jeopardy; hate-crimes bill invites prosecutorial abuse. The Washington Times, 18.
Isaacs, T. (2007, Summer–Fall). Domestic violence and hate crimes: Acknowledging two levels of responsibility. Criminal Justice Ethics, 20(2), 31–35.
Jacobs, J. B. (1999, Fall). Should hate be a crime. The Public Interest, 113, 3–5.
Latest hate crime statistics report released. (2014). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/december/latest-hate-crime-statistics-report-released.
Lawrence, F. M. (2008, Spring). The evolving federal role in bias crime law enforcement and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007. Stanford Law & Policy Review, 19(2), 251–255.
Meade, E. (2010, July–August). Scanning the future of law enforcement: A trend analysis. The Futurist, 44(4), 22–25.
Simmons, K. C. (2012, Fall). Subverting symbolism: The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and cooperative federalism. American Criminal Law Review, 49(4), 1863–1874.
Stevens, B. (2011, Summer). Disability hate crimes: Does anyone really hate disabled people? Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 39(2), 387–391.
Trout, M. (2015, Winter). Federalizing hate: Constitutional and practical limitations to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. American Criminal Law Review, 52(1), 131–135.
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