Hate-crime cases are on the rise
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 28, 1997 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 29, 1997
Hate-crime cases are on the rise
VIOLENCE: On campus and nationwide, gays
and others are targeted
By Adjoa Middleton
Daily Bruin Contributor
Hate-crime statistics have been going through the roof, both
nationally and locally, and members of one of the principal target
groups have been discussing how to respond.
Hate crime is defined as "any criminal offense which is
motivated in whole or part by the offender’s bias against a race,
religion, ethnic/ national origin group or sexual orientation
group," according to the university police. These crimes may be
demonstrated by intimidation, physical attack, arson, murder or
rape.
The passage of the Hate Crimes Act of 1990 enforced greater
vigilance in reporting hate crimes. This legislation was a
contributing factor to the increase in numbers, according to Nancy
Greenstein of the UCPD.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community at
UCLA counselled people to report any hateful incident, however
small – an approach explored last Tuesday when a group of
hate-crime experts met with community members to discuss the
issue.
Reported hate crimes – principally targeted at the African
American and LGBT communities – have risen by 60 percent on campus
since last year, and by 36 percent nationwide since 1995, according
to university police. Five cases of hate crimes were reported at
UCLA in 1996, and 7,947 crimes were reported nationwide in 1995,
according to the FBI.
Greenstein was recruited from the West Hollywood police
department to address, in part, issues of hate crimes on
campus.
Experts differ as to why hate crime statistics are rising
nationwide, statewide and on campus.
The social climate established by Propositions 187, 209 and the
political strength of the religious right provided an environment
which left minority groups vulnerable to violent acts, said Deputy
Don Mueller of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department, one of the
panelists at the forum.
Darnell Grisby, an Undergraduate Students Association Council
general representative, and one of the organizers of the
conference, attributes hate crimes to a "lack of respect for
differences" in the increasingly diverse community of Los
Angeles.
According to the FBI, California leads the nation in reported
hate crimes for 1995, a year marked by a significant increase in
the number of hate crimes reported nationwide. In 1994, 5,852
crimes were reported to the FBI. That number jumped 36 percent, to
7,947, in 1995.
A major obstacle in preventing hate crimes against the LGBT
community, according to Mueller, is that people don’t report it. An
estimated 70 percent of hate crimes go unreported.
Mueller stressed the importance of reporting all hate crimes
from vandalism to violence, because offenders who start out with
hate speech and vandalism often commit physically violent crimes
later.
Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, the keynote speaker, emphasized a
policy of "zero tolerance" with hate crimes, encouraging active
legal response to hate speech.
Three of the four panelists echoed what Grisby said: "Words
create a culture of acceptance for violence. Homophobic attitudes
and expressions lead to violent acts."
Hate speech is detrimental to a healthy learning environment,
Kuehl said. She supports stronger enforcement of policy codes
restricting racist and homophobic speech on campus.
In addition to the University of California, several
universities such as the University of Connecticut, the University
of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin have responded to the
rise in hate crimes by instituting speech codes. Violations of
these speech codes could lead to expulsion.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), however, is against
these speech codes.
"Freedom of thought and expression is particularly important on
the college campuses … even when hateful or offensive," said a
representative of the ACLU.
The LGBT conference advocated stopping violence on a personal
level and joining resources with other targeted groups, like the
African- American and Jewish communities, to stop hate crimes.
People should do their best, said Mueller, to minimize violent
thoughts, speech and action from their lives to make sure that "we
do not perpetuate the hate that is directed at us as a minority
group."
