Violent Crimes
African-Americans are more likely than individuals of other races to be victims of violent crimes. In Criminal Victimization, 2004 (September 2005, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv04.pdf), Shannan M. Catalano reports that in 2004 for every one thousand people in each racial group there were twenty-six violent crimes committed against African-Americans, twenty-one committed against whites, and 12.7 committed against people of other races. Hispanics were victimized at a rate of 18.2 per one thousand, lower than the rate for non-Hispanic whites (21.9 per one thousand). Although minorities were particularly likely to be victimized, the rate of violent crimes in each racial and ethnic group had declined significantly between 1993 and 2004—and the percentage of decline was particularly high for minorities. The rate of violent crimes committed against Hispanics had dropped 67%, the rate of violent crimes committed against African-Americans had dropped 61.4%, and the rate of violent crimes committed against people of other minority races had dropped 68.1%. (See Table 7.1.)
The rates of violent crimes by type of crime show that minorities are more likely than whites to be victims of some types of violent crime, while about equally likely to be victims of other types of violent crime. In 2004 African-Americans were more likely than whites to be victims of aggravated assault (6.7 per one thousand and four per one thousand, respectively) and robbery (3.7 per one thousand and 1.8 per one thousand, respectively). However, African-Americans and whites are about equally likely to be victims of rape/sexual assault or simple assault. And while non-Hispanics were more likely than Hispanics to be victims of simple assault in 2004 (14.6 per one thousand and 11.7 per one thousand, respectively), Hispanics and non-Hispanics were about equally likely to be victims of rape/sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault. (See Table 7.2.)
HOMICIDE
African-Americans are also more likely than people in other groups to be victims of homicides. African-American males between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four have had the highest homicide victimization rate in the last half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. That proportion rose from 89.8 homicide victims per one hundred thousand population in 1976 to 102.3 homicide victims per one hundred thousand population in 2002, but the number had actually dropped since peaking at 183.5 in 1993. The homicide victimization rate among white men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four had also risen, from 11.3 homicides per one hundred thousand population in 1976 to 12.7 homicides per one hundred thousand in 2002. Again, there was a spike in the early 1990s, with the victimization rate topping out at 18.2 in 1991. Among African-American and white women, the homicide victimization rate decreased in all age categories between 1976 and 2002. (See Table 7.3.)
Circumstances surrounding homicides vary from racial group to racial group. While African-Americans are overrepresented as both victims and offenders in all types of homicide compared with their presence in the U.S. population as a whole, African-Americans also are overrepresented compared with their already heightened representation among homicide victims in homicides
TABLE 7.1 Violent victimization rates of selected demographic categories, 1993–2004
| TABLE 7.1 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent victimization rates of selected demographic categories, 1993–2004 | |||||||||||||
| Demographic category of victim | Number of violent crimes per 1,000 persons age 12 or older | Percent change, 1993–2004 | |||||||||||
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||
| Note: Annual rates are based on interviews conducted during the calendar year. Beginning in 2003 the racial categories are white/black/other "only" and "two or more races." "Other race" includes American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders identifying a single racial background. The collection of racial and ethnic categories in 2003 changed from that of previous years; however, because about 0.9% of survey respondents identified two or more races, the impact on the victimization rates for each race is small. | |||||||||||||
| "—" not available. | |||||||||||||
| SOURCE: Shannan M. Catalano,"Table 4. Violent Victimization Rates of Selected Demographic Categories, 1993–2004," in Criminal Victimization, 2004, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, September 2005, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv04.pdf (accessed January 24, 2006) | |||||||||||||
| Gender | |||||||||||||
| Male | 59.8 | 61.1 | 55.7 | 49.9 | 45.8 | 43.1 | 37.0 | 32.9 | 27.3 | 25.5 | 26.3 | 25.0 | −58.2% |
| Female | 40.7 | 43.0 | 38.1 | 34.6 | 33.0 | 30.4 | 28.8 | 23.2 | 23.0 | 20.8 | 19.0 | 18.1 | −56.5 |
| Race | |||||||||||||
| White | 47.9 | 50.5 | 44.7 | 40.9 | 38.3 | 36.3 | 31.9 | 27.1 | 24.5 | 22.8 | 21.5 | 21.0 | −56.2% |
| Black | 67.4 | 61.3 | 61.1 | 52.3 | 49.0 | 41.7 | 41.6 | 35.3 | 31.2 | 27.9 | 29.1 | 26.0 | −61.4 |
| Other race | 39.8 | 49.9 | 41.9 | 33.2 | 28.0 | 27.6 | 24.5 | 20.7 | 18.2 | 14.7 | 16.0 | 12.7 | −68.1 |
| Two or more races | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 67.7 | 51.6 | — |
| Hispanic origin | |||||||||||||
| Hispanic | 55.2 | 61.6 | 57.3 | 44.0 | 43.1 | 32.8 | 33.8 | 28.4 | 29.5 | 23.6 | 24.2 | 18.2 | −67.0% |
| Non-Hispanic | 49.5 | 50.7 | 45.2 | 41.6 | 38.3 | 36.8 | 32.4 | 27.7 | 24.5 | 23.0 | 22.3 | 21.9 | −55.8 |
| Annual household income | |||||||||||||
| Less than $7,500 | 84.7 | 86.0 | 77.8 | 65.3 | 71.0 | 63.8 | 57.5 | 60.3 | 46.6 | 45.5 | 49.9 | 38.4 | −54.7% |
| $7,500-$14,999 | 56.4 | 60.7 | 49.8 | 52.1 | 51.2 | 49.3 | 44.5 | 37.8 | 36.9 | 31.5 | 30.8 | 39.0 | −30.9 |
| $15,000-$24,999 | 49.0 | 50.7 | 48.9 | 44.1 | 40.1 | 39.4 | 35.3 | 31.8 | 31.8 | 30.0 | 26.3 | 24.4 | −50.2 |
| $25,000-$34,999 | 51.0 | 47.3 | 47.1 | 43.0 | 40.2 | 42.0 | 37.9 | 29.8 | 29.1 | 27.0 | 24.9 | 22.1 | −56.7 |
| $35,000-$49,999 | 45.6 | 47.0 | 45.8 | 43.0 | 38.7 | 31.7 | 30.3 | 28.5 | 26.3 | 25.6 | 21.4 | 21.6 | −52.6 |
| $50,000-$74,999 | 44.0 | 48.0 | 44.6 | 37.5 | 33.9 | 32.0 | 33.3 | 23.7 | 21.0 | 18.7 | 22.9 | 22.1 | −49.8 |
| $75,000 or more | 41.3 | 39.5 | 37.3 | 30.5 | 30.7 | 33.1 | 22.9 | 22.3 | 18.5 | 19.0 | 17.5 | 17.0 | −58.8 |
TABLE 7.2 Rates of violent crime and personal theft, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2004
| TABLE 7.2 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rates of violent crime and personal theft, by gender, race, Hispanic origin, and age, 2004 | ||||||||
| Characteristic of victim | Population | Victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older | ||||||
| All | Violent crimes | |||||||
| Rape/sexual assault | Robbery | Assault | Personal theft | |||||
| Total | Aggravated | Simple | ||||||
| Note: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) includes as violent crime rape, sexual assault, robbery, and assault. Because the NCVS interviews persons about their victimizations, murder and manslaughter cannot be included. | ||||||||
| aRacial and ethnic categories in 2004 are not comparable to those of years prior to 2003. | ||||||||
| bBased on 10 or fewer sample cases. | ||||||||
| SOURCE: Shannan M. Catalano, "Table 6. Rates of Violent Crime and Personal Theft, by Gender, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Age, 2004," in Criminal Victimization, 2004, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, September 2005, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv04.pdf (accessed January 24, 2006) | ||||||||
| Gender | ||||||||
| Male | 117,486,840 | 25.0 | 0.1b | 2.9 | 22.1 | 5.8 | 16.3 | 1.0 |
| Female | 124,216,870 | 18.1 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 15.1 | 2.8 | 12.3 | 0.9 |
| Racea | ||||||||
| White | 198,673,820 | 21.0 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 18.4 | 4.0 | 14.4 | 0.8 |
| Black | 29,030,650 | 26.0 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 20.7 | 6.7 | 13.9 | 1.5 |
| Other race | 11,848,970 | 12.7 | 0.0b | 2.6b | 10.1 | 1.8b | 8.3 | 1.0b |
| Two or more | 2,150,270 | 51.6 | 2.4b | 3.8b | 45.3 | 5.5b | 39.8 | 3.2b |
| Hispanic origina | ||||||||
| Hispanic | 30,878,140 | 18.2 | 0.6b | 2.8 | 14.9 | 3.2 | 11.7 | 0.7b |
| Non-Hispanic | 209,415,300 | 21.9 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 19.1 | 4.4 | 14.6 | 1.0 |
| Age | ||||||||
| 12-15 | 17,082,980 | 49.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 43.6 | 6.2 | 37.5 | 2.1 |
| 16-19 | 16,256,320 | 45.9 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 38.6 | 11.3 | 27.2 | 3.3 |
| 20-24 | 20,272,750 | 43.0 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 37.4 | 9.4 | 28.0 | 0.7b |
| 25-34 | 39,509,560 | 23.7 | 0.7b | 2.4 | 20.6 | 4.8 | 15.8 | 0.6b |
| 35-49 | 65,580,130 | 17.9 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 15.2 | 3.9 | 11.4 | 0.7 |
| 50-64 | 48,411,930 | 11.0 | 0.3b | 1.1 | 9.6 | 1.9 | 7.8 | 0.5b |
| 65 or older | 34,590,050 | 2.1 | 0.1b | 0.3b | 1.8 | 0.5b | 1.3 | 0.8b |
TABLE 7.3 Homicide victimization rates, by age, race, and gender, 1976–2002
| TABLE 7.3 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide victimization rates, by age, race, and gender, 1976–2002 | ||||||||||||
| [per 100,000 population] | ||||||||||||
| White male | Black male | White female | Black female | |||||||||
| 14-17 | 18-24 | 25+ | 14-17 | 18-24 | 25+ | 14-17 | 18-24 | 25+ | 14-17 | 18-24 | 25+ | |
| SOURCE: James Alan Fox and Marianne W. Zawitz, "Homicide Victimization Rates per 100,000 Population by Age, Race, and Gender," in Homicide Trends in the United States, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm (accessed January 24, 2006) | ||||||||||||
| 1976 | 3.7 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 24.2 | 89.8 | 97.2 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 6.3 | 25.1 | 19.3 |
| 1977 | 4.1 | 12.5 | 9.9 | 22.4 | 86.9 | 94.1 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 8.7 | 24.5 | 17.2 |
| 1978 | 4.7 | 13.3 | 10.4 | 21.9 | 86.4 | 90.3 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 7.6 | 23.7 | 16.5 |
| 1979 | 4.9 | 16.0 | 11.0 | 23.2 | 90.9 | 95.7 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 24.0 | 8.2 |
| 1980 | 5.1 | 16.2 | 11.4 | 26.3 | 96.7 | 94.8 | 2.6 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 6.8 | 23.5 | 17.1 |
| 1981 | 4.3 | 14.9 | 11.3 | 23.0 | 89.7 | 93.2 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 6.0 | 20.4 | 16.0 |
| 1982 | 4.0 | 13.9 | 10.4 | 22.3 | 82.6 | 79.5 | 1.9 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 7.5 | 17.7 | 14.4 |
| 1983 | 3.8 | 12.7 | 9.4 | 21.4 | 75.0 | 70.7 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 5.2 | 19.4 | 13.0 |
| 1984 | 3.5 | 11.9 | 9.1 | 18.4 | 68.0 | 64.6 | 2.1 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 18.2 | 12.4 |
| 1985 | 3.9 | 12.1 | 8.9 | 23.7 | 73.3 | 62.4 | 1.9 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 7.3 | 16.5 | 13.2 |
| 1986 | 4.1 | 13.3 | 9.0 | 26.8 | 87.9 | 70.2 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 19.7 | 14.1 |
| 1987 | 3.7 | 12.3 | 8.5 | 36.2 | 96.4 | 64.0 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 7.1 | 19.6 | 14.4 |
| 1988 | 3.9 | 12.3 | 8.1 | 43.3 | 109.5 | 69.2 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 7.2 | 20.8 | 14.8 |
| 1989 | 5.3 | 13.4 | 8.2 | 54.3 | 128.3 | 70.5 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 8.6 | 20.0 | 14.7 |
| 1990 | 7.5 | 16.7 | 8.7 | 59.0 | 151.0 | 74.4 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 10.3 | 20.5 | 14.3 |
| 1991 | 8.5 | 18.2 | 8.8 | 71.9 | 173.7 | 72.7 | 2.5 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 9.4 | 23.4 | 15.0 |
| 1992 | 9.0 | 17.4 | 8.4 | 67.3 | 171.8 | 67.6 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 12.8 | 20.8 | 14.4 |
| 1993 | 9.1 | 17.2 | 8.1 | 76.4 | 183.5 | 68.3 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 12.7 | 24.1 | 14.5 |
| 1994 | 8.7 | 17.8 | 7.7 | 71.6 | 176.2 | 64.3 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 10.0 | 20.7 | 13.7 |
| 1995 | 8.6 | 17.3 | 6.9 | 63.2 | 148.9 | 56.4 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 17.1 | 12.2 |
| 1996 | 7.9 | 15.4 | 6.5 | 52.2 | 138.2 | 50.0 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 8.9 | 15.4 | 11.3 |
| 1997 | 5.7 | 14.5 | 5.9 | 42.0 | 136.5 | 45.5 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 7.2 | 15.4 | 9.9 |
| 1998 | 5.7 | 14.5 | 5.3 | 32.8 | 117.4 | 40.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 14.3 | 9.3 |
| 1999 | 5.1 | 12.5 | 5.0 | 31.0 | 102.4 | 36.5 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 12.9 | 7.9 |
| 2000 | 4.1 | 12.1 | 4.7 | 25.8 | 100.6 | 38.1 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 7.6 |
| 2001 | 3.8 | 12.9 | 4.8 | 26.3 | 104.0 | 37.5 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 10.1 | 7.6 |
| 2002 | 3.6 | 12.7 | 4.7 | 22.6 | 102.3 | 39.0 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 7.4 |
involving drugs. While 46.8% of all homicide victims were African-American in 2002, they represented 62.1% of all victims of drug-related homicides. Conversely, African-Americans are underrepresented as victims among sex-related homicides (30.5%), workplace killings (11.6%), and homicides by poison (17.1%). (See Table 7.4.)
Most murders are intraracial. The Department of Justice reports in Homicide Trends in the U.S. (September 2004, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm) that between 1976 and 2002 most murders of whites were perpetrated by whites (86%), while most murders of African-Americans were perpetrated by African-Americans (94%).
Property Crimes
In 2001, which is the most recent year for which detailed data including race and ethnicity and property crimes are available, African-Americans were more likely than whites to be victims of property crime. That year, 42.8 per one thousand African-Americans were burglarized, compared with 26.6 per one thousand white people. Approximately 16.1 per one thousand African-Americans had a vehicle stolen, compared with 8.2 per one thousand whites. Still, the trend reversed for other types of theft: 120.8 per one thousand African-Americans, compared with 130.3 per one thousand whites. (See Table 7.5.)
Hispanics were more likely to be victims of property crime than non-Hispanics. In 2001, 224.1 per one thousand Hispanics reported a burglary or theft, compared with 161.3 per one thousand non-Hispanics. Hispanics (19.8 per one thousand) were more than two times as likely as non-Hispanics (8.2 per one thousand) to experience motor vehicle thefts. (See Table 7.5.)
Hate Crimes
The 1990 Hate Crime Statistics Act (PL 101-275) required the U.S. attorney general to "acquire data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity [and] publish an annual summary of the data acquired under this section." In 1994 the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act (PL 103-322) amended the Hate Crime Statistics Act to include crimes motivated by discrimination against people with physical and/or mental disabilities. For an offense to be considered a hate crime, law enforcement investigation must reveal sufficient evidence to lead to the conclusion that the offender's actions were motivated by his or her bias against a certain group. Therefore, data on hate crimes must be considered underreported, as many incidents and offenses motivated by bias go uncounted without sufficient evidence concerning that motivation. And
TABLE 7.4 Homicide type by race, 1976–2002
| TABLE 7.4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide type by race, 1976–2002 | ||||||
| Victims | Offenders | |||||
| White | Black | Other | White | Black | Other | |
| SOURCE: James Alan Fox and Marianne W. Zawitz, "Homicide Type by Race, 1976–2002," in Homicide Trends in the United States, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm (accessed January 24, 2006) | ||||||
| All homicides | 51.1% | 46.8% | 2.1% | 45.9% | 52.1% | 2.0% |
| Victim/offender relationship | ||||||
| Intimate | 56.2% | 41.7% | 2.2% | 54.0% | 43.9% | 2.1% |
| Family | 60.2% | 37.4% | 2.3% | 58.8% | 38.9% | 2.2% |
| Infanticide | 55.6% | 41.9% | 2.5% | 55.0% | 42.5% | 2.5% |
| Eldercide | 68.9% | 29.6% | 1.5% | 53.9% | 44.6% | 1.6% |
| Circumstances | ||||||
| Felony murder | 55.0% | 42.4% | 2.5% | 39.2% | 59.2% | 1.6% |
| Sex related | 67.1% | 30.5% | 2.4% | 55.2% | 42.9% | 1.9% |
| Drug related | 37.0% | 62.1% | .9% | 33.5% | 65.5% | 1.1% |
| Gang related | 57.9% | 38.7% | 3.4% | 54.3% | 41.5% | 4.2% |
| Argument | 48.3% | 49.7% | 2.0% | 46.5% | 51.4% | 2.1% |
| Workplace | 85.2% | 11.6% | 3.2% | 69.7% | 27.3% | 3.0% |
| Weapon | ||||||
| Gun homicide | 47.6% | 50.6% | 1.8% | 42.3% | 56.0% | 1.7% |
| Arson | 59.3% | 37.8% | 2.9% | 55.5% | 42.3% | 2.2% |
| Poison | 80.6% | 17.1% | 2.4% | 78.8% | 19.3% | 1.9% |
| Multiple victims or offenders | ||||||
| Multiple victims | 64.1% | 32.5% | 3.3% | 56.6% | 40.1% | 3.3% |
| Multiple offenders | 55.3% | 42.0% | 2.7% | 45.0% | 52.6% | 2.3% |
TABLE 7.5 Property crime victimization, by demographic characteristics, 2001
| TABLE 7.5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime victimization, by demographic characteristics, 2001 | |||||
| Characteristic of household or head of household | Number of households, 2001 | Victimizations per 1,000 households | |||
| Total | Burglary | Motor vehicle theft | Theft | ||
| SOURCE: Callie Rennison, "Table 7. Property Crime Victimization, by Race, Hispanic Origin, Household Income, Region, Locality, and Home Ownership of Households Victimized, 2001," in Criminal Victimization 2001: Changes 2000–01 with Trends 1993–2001, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv01.pdf (accessed January 24, 2006) | |||||
| Race | |||||
| White | 91,732,200 | 164.1 | 26.6 | 8.2 | 130.3 |
| Black | 13,827,190 | 179.7 | 42.8 | 16.1 | 120.8 |
| Other | 4,009,070 | 163.6 | 27.6 | 8.4 | 127.6 |
| Hispanic origin | |||||
| Hispanic | 9,862,250 | 224.1 | 33.0 | 19.8 | 171.4 |
| Non-Hispanic | 98,954,490 | 161.3 | 28.3 | 8.2 | 124.9 |
| Household income | |||||
| Less than $7,500 | 5,777,210 | 184.6 | 58.0 | 8.4 | 118.3 |
| $7,500-$14,999 | 9,523,740 | 181.6 | 37.1 | 11.5 | 133.0 |
| $15,000-$24,999 | 12,782,170 | 179.2 | 36.2 | 10.3 | 132.8 |
| $25,000-$34,999 | 12,455,200 | 170.4 | 33.3 | 9.8 | 127.4 |
| $35,000-$49,999 | 14,447,520 | 176.4 | 23.0 | 10.6 | 142.8 |
| $50,000-$74,999 | 14,609,900 | 178.8 | 20.2 | 7.8 | 150.8 |
| $75,000 or more | 16,668,470 | 180.0 | 22.7 | 7.4 | 149.9 |
| Region | |||||
| Northeast | 20,776,040 | 123.9 | 18.0 | 6.9 | 98.3 |
| Midwest | 26,422,420 | 172.3 | 33.6 | 8.2 | 130.5 |
| South | 39,731,130 | 157.5 | 29.7 | 8.7 | 119.1 |
| West | 22,638,860 | 216.4 | 30.2 | 13.4 | 172.8 |
| Residence | |||||
| Urban | 31,767,270 | 212.8 | 37.3 | 15.1 | 160.4 |
| Suburban | 50,841,090 | 156.7 | 24.3 | 8.5 | 123.9 |
| Rural | 26,960,100 | 131.9 | 26.7 | 3.6 | 101.6 |
| Home ownership | |||||
| Owned | 73,957,330 | 146.3 | 23.8 | 7.3 | 115.2 |
| Rented | 35,611,120 | 209.6 | 38.8 | 13.1 | 157.8 |
while hate crimes can be perpetrated against majority groups, most hate crimes are directed at minorities: racial minorities, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, gay and lesbian people, or people with disabilities.
The hate crime data collection program counts one offense for each victim of crimes against people, but only one offense for each distinct crime against property, regardless of the number of victims—therefore, the number of victims is higher than the number of offenses. Of the 9,035 hate-bias offenses reported in 2004, 4,863 were racially motivated and 1,201 were ethnically motivated. Of the racially motivated incidents, 3,281 were committed against African-Americans and 998 were committed against whites. Of the offenses motivated by ethnicity or national origin, 611 were anti-Hispanic and 590 were directed against another ethnicity or national origin. (See Table 7.6.)
The Intelligence Project (2005, http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp) of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, a private organization that monitors hate groups and paramilitary organizations nationwide, reports that there were 762 hate group chapters in 2004, including racist groups such as chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, racist skinhead groups (a particularly violent element of the white supremacist movement), neo-Confederate groups (an alliance of southern heritage organizations that claims allegiance to the antebellum South), and others. The organization also tracks black separatist groups that typically oppose integration and want separate institutions for African-Americans. Although the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes that this black racism is in part a response to centuries of white racism, it believes that a criterion for considering a group racist should be applied to all groups regardless of color. The Intelligence Project states that there were 162 Ku Klux Klan chapters, 158 neo-Nazi groups, 108 black separatist groups, ninety-seven neo-Confederate groups, forty-eight racist skinhead groups, twenty-eight Christian identity groups, and 161 other types of hate groups operating nationwide in 2004.
Crime at School
Although students are less likely to be victimized at school than they are away from school, any crime at school, especially violent crimes, justifiably horrifies students and the community at large. In Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2005 (November 2005, http://nces.ed. gov/pubs2006/2006001.pdf), J. F. DeVoe et al. state, "Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community."
Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by crimes at school. All types of crimes—theft, violent, and serious violent—as reported by the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2005 were most likely
TABLE 7.6 Hate-bias incidents, 2004
| TABLE 7.6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hate-bias incidents, 2004 | ||||
| Bias motivation | Incidents | Offenses | Victimsa | Known offendersb |
| aThe term victim may refer to a person, business, institution, or society as a whole. | ||||
| bThe term known offender does not imply that the identity of the suspect is known, but only that an attribute of the suspect has been identified, which distinguishes him/her from an unknown offender. | ||||
| cIn a multiple-bias incident two conditions must be met: 1) more than one offense type must occur in the incident and 2) at least two offense types must be motivated by different biases. | ||||
| SOURCE: "Table 1. Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders by Bias Motivation, 2004," in Hate Crime Statistics, 2004, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, November 2005, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2004/tables/HateCrime2004.pdf (accessed January 24, 2006) | ||||
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Total | 7,649 | 9,035 | 9,528 | 7,145 |
| Single-bias incidents | 7,642 | 9,021 | 9,514 | 7,136 |
| Race: | 4,042 | 4,863 | 5,119 | 4,173 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-white | 829 | 998 | 1,027 | 1,085 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-black | 2,731 | 3,281 | 3,475 | 2,694 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native | 83 | 97 | 100 | 97 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander | 217 | 252 | 266 | 188 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-multiple races, group | 182 | 235 | 251 | 109 |
| Religion: | 1,374 | 1,480 | 1,586 | 604 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Jewish | 954 | 1,003 | 1,076 | 330 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Catholic | 57 | 57 | 68 | 37 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Protestant | 38 | 43 | 48 | 28 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Islamic | 156 | 193 | 201 | 124 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-other religion | 128 | 140 | 147 | 68 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-multiple religions, group | 35 | 37 | 39 | 14 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-atheism/agnosticism/etc. | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Sexual orientation: | 1,197 | 1,406 | 1,482 | 1,258 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-male homosexual | 738 | 855 | 902 | 832 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-female homosexual | 164 | 201 | 212 | 163 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-homosexual | 245 | 297 | 314 | 224 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-heterosexual | 33 | 35 | 36 | 22 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-bisexual | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| Ethnicity/national origin: | 972 | 1,201 | 1,254 | 1,047 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-Hispanic | 475 | 611 | 646 | 585 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-other ethnicity/national origin | 497 | 590 | 608 | 462 |
| Disability: | 57 | 71 | 73 | 54 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-physical | 23 | 23 | 24 | 16 |
| #x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;#x00A0;Anti-mental | 34 | 48 | 49 | 38 |
| Multiple-bias incidentsc | 7 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
Drugs were another serious problem at school. In 2003, 29% of all students reported that drugs were made available to them on school property during the previous twelve months. That percentage, however, varied by race and ethnicity. Hispanics (37%) were most likely to have had drugs made available to them on school property during the previous twelve months, followed by Pacific Islanders (35%), Native Americans (31%), and whites (28%). African-Americans (23%) and Asian-Americans (23%) were least
FIGURE 7.1 Rate of student-reported nonfatal crimes against students ages 12-18 at school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics, 2003
FIGURE 7.2 Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported that street gangs were present at school during the previous 6 months, by urbanicity and race/ethnicity, 2003
Students were also made the target of hate-related words and saw hate-related graffiti at school all too often in 2003. Twelve percent of all students had been the target of hate-related words in the past six months—particularly African-American students (14%). More than a third of all students (36%) had seen hate-related graffiti at school: 40% of Hispanics, 38% of African-Americans, and 35% of whites. (See Figure 7.4.) Of all African-American students surveyed, 7% reported having been the target of hate-related words related to their race; among Hispanic students, 5.5% reported being targets of hate-related words related to their race and 4.8% reported being targets of hate-related words related to their ethnicity. Students were more likely to report being targeted for their race (4%) and ethnicity (2.4%) than for any other reason, including religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. (See Table 7.7.)
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