Legal Definitions - hate crime

A hate crime is a type of criminal act that is motivated by a person's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. It is also known as a bias crime. This means that the perpetrator of the crime targets the victim because of who they are, rather than because of something they have done.

Examples of hate crimes include:

• A person vandalizing a synagogue because they hate Jewish people
• A group of people assaulting a gay man because of his sexual orientation
• A person harassing a Muslim woman because of her religion

These examples illustrate the definition of a hate crime because in each case, the victim is targeted because of a characteristic that they cannot change. The perpetrator of the crime is motivated by hate or prejudice, rather than by any specific action taken by the victim.

Hate crimes are taken very seriously by law enforcement and can result in severe penalties for the perpetrator. In some cases, hate crimes may also be prosecuted as federal crimes under the Hate Crimes Act.