For more information on the following story, contact Bryan Byers at [email protected] or at (765) 285-1530.
PROFESSOR: NEW BIAS CRIMES LAW A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Indiana's new bias crimes law that takes effect July 1 is the first step in reducing such acts of violence, says a Ball State University educator.
Public Law 24 mandates that law enforcement agencies throughout Indiana collect information on bias crimes throughout the year, then submit that data to the state for additional review.
Although the state's first bias crimes law, commonly known as hate crimes, is not as inclusive as surrounding states because it lacks sentence enhancement penalties, it is a step in the right direction, said Bryan Byers, a criminal justice professor.
Crimes will be reported to the Indiana Central Repository for Criminal History Information, which in turn will submit a yearly report to all law enforcement agencies and the legislative branch.
Information will be divided into whether the crime is alleged or charged or if a conviction has been obtained. In addition, the individuals filing reports and data collectors will be asked to tell if the bias was the primary motivation for the crime or only incidental to it.
"It sends a clear message to Hoosiers that the state legislature thinks that addressing the issue is important enough to pass a law," Byers said. "Secondly, it forces law enforcement to address the issue. They must now count certain acts as hate or bias crimes under clear definitions."
Hate crimes are criminal acts committed against a person or property based on race, religion, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation or disability.
"When we are able to access the numbers of crimes, the types of acts and characteristics of the victims, we then can determine what additional laws are needed," Byers said. "In years past, the Hate Crime Reporting Network, a group of private individuals, would track statistics in Indiana and report it to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission."
Byers assisted the commission in 1996 create a draft version of the hate crimes reporting form, which has been modified for the state's police agencies to use.
Various hate crime statistics in the United States, according to several private organizations, include:
*Forty-one states prosecute hate crimes. Hawaii and New Hampshire are the only two states not reporting hate crimes.
*The highest number of hate crimes are committed against African-Americans.
*White males under 21 of age commit the highest number of hate crimes.
*In 1998 there were 537 active hate groups involved in racist activities, and 254 Internet hate sites, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Byers at [email protected] or at (765) 285-1530. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.)
Marc Ransford
6/29/00
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