Policing and Surveillance

Hate Crime Issues and Perspectives, 2009

Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 250

19 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2013

See all articles by Jeannine Bell

Jeannine Bell

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

Some of what officers do in incidents suspected of being bias crimes is similar to what they do with other cases that are not believed to be bias-motivated. For instance, if the crime is reported to the police, as the first responders police patrol officers may need to secure the crime scene, collect evidence, and/or arrest any perpetrators remaining on the scene. As an additional matter, the patrol officer who responds may also need to provide assistance to victims and/or call for medical assistance. It is at this point — when interacting with the victim — that the role played by officers responding to a hate crime call begins to diverge. Research has shown that in hate crime cases, victims are often especially destabilized and, as first responders, law enforcement officers have a significant role to play in comforting the victims and reassuring him or her that the attacker will not return (Levin, 1993; Kelly, 1993).

After the victim has been tended to, in many jurisdictions the responding officer may also have the discretion to decide whether to file a report. If no report is filed, the criminal justice inquiry will end at this point as the existence of a police report was crucial to later investigation. If a report is filed, police detectives who are often charged with crime investigation have the discretion to decide whether the crime is worthy of investigation. In cases that are considered worthy of investigation, police investigators are charged with gathering evidence to support criminal charges. In jurisdictions with hate crime statutes, police may also be required to identify or classify particular crimes as hate crimes. Because of the peculiarities attendant to hate crime, task of responding to, classifying, and investigating this type of crime is distinct from the police role in other areas. The peculiarities of the demands on the police, and officers’ resulting responses are the subject of this chapter.

Keywords: hate crime, policing, police discretion

Suggested Citation

Bell, Jeannine, Policing and Surveillance (2009). Hate Crime Issues and Perspectives, 2009, Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 250, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2292164

Jeannine Bell (Contact Author)

Indiana University Maurer School of Law ( email )

211 S. Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States
812-856-5013 (Phone)
812-855-0555 (Fax)

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