About
Hate Crimes
What Is A Hate Crime?
This is the definition posted by "The International Association of Chiefs of Police is the world's oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization of police executives, with over 20,000 members in over 89 different countries. IACP's leadership consists of the operating chief executives of international, federal, state and local agencies of all sizes." From: http://www.theiacp.org/about/
The following is from: http://www.theiacp.org/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=document&document_id=141
Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer's Guide to Investigation and Prevention
Nancy Turner
What Is a Hate Crime?
Hate crimes and hate incidents are major issues for all police because of their unique impact on victims as well as the community. This guidebook will explain the differences between hate crimes and hate incidents and how to respond to both.
A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against persons, property or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by an offender's bias against an individual's or a group's race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. (Definition developed at the 1998 IACP Summit on Hate Crime in America.)
Legal definitions of hate crimes vary. The federal definition of hate crimes addresses civil rights violations under 18 U.S.C. Section 245.
As of 1999, 41 states and the District of Columbia have hate crime statutes that provide enhanced penalties for crimes in which victims are selected because of a perpetrator's bias against a victim's perceived race, religion or ethnicity. Many states also classify as hate crimes those in which a victim is selected based on a perception of his/her sexual orientation.
Hate crime definitions often encompass not only violence against individuals or groups but also crimes against property, such as arson or vandalism, particularly those directed against community centers or houses of worship. Check your state statutes for the definition of hate crime in your jurisdiction.
Accurate and comprehensive police reporting is essential to understanding the prevalence and patterns of hate crimes both locally and nationally.
The federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 (Public Law 102-275 April 23, 1990) encourages states to report hate crime data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia require the collection of hate crime data. In 1997, 11,211 state and local law enforcement agencies voluntarily reported 9,861 hate crime offenses to the FBI.
An outline of Illinois Criminal Law which includes the cites in 12-7.1 below is available here.
Here is a copy of the Illinois statute and its relevant provisions:
720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 (2004)
[Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat., Ch. 38, para. 12-7.1]
§ 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1.
Hate crime
Sec. 12-7.1. Hate crime. (a) A person commits hate crime when, by reason of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors, he commits assault, battery, aggravated assault, misdemeanor theft, criminal trespass to residence, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to vehicle, criminal trespass to real property, mob action or disorderly conduct as these crimes are defined in Sections 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 16-1, 19-4, 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, 25-1, and 26-1 of this Code [720 ILCS 5/12-1, 720 ILCS 5/12-2, 720 ILCS 5/12-3, 720 ILCS 5/16-1, 720 ILCS 5/19-4, 720 ILCS 5/21-1, 720 ILCS 5/21-2, 720 ILCS 5/21-3, 720 ILCS 5/25-1, and 720 ILCS 5/26-1], respectively, or harassment by telephone as defined in Section 1-1 of the Harassing and Obscene Communications Act [720 ILCS 135/1-1], or harassment through electronic communications as defined in clause (a)(4) of Section 1-2 of the Harassing and Obscene Communications Act [720-135/1-2].
(b) Except as provided in subsection (b-5), hate crime is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense.
(b-5) Hate crime is a Class 3 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense if committed:
(1) in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship or other religious purpose;
(2) in a cemetery, mortuary, or other facility used for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead;
(3) in a school or other educational facility;
(4) in a public park or an ethnic or religious community center;
(5) on the real property comprising any location specified in clauses (1) through (4) of this subsection (b-5); or
(c) Independent of any criminal prosecution or the result thereof, any person suffering injury to his person or damage to his property as a result of hate crime may bring a civil action for damages, injunction or other appropriate relief. The court may award actual damages, including damages for emotional distress, or punitive damages. A judgment may include attorney's fees and costs. The parents or legal guardians, other than guardians appointed pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 [705 ILCS 405/1-1 et seq.], of an unemancipated minor shall be liable for the amount of any judgment for actual damages rendered against such minor under this subsection (c) in any amount not exceeding the amount provided under Section 5 of the Parental Responsibility Law [740 ILCS 115/5].
The full text of 720 ILCS 5/12-7.1 is available here or here