Hate Crimes 101 Panelists: Angelica Ross Founding CEO and Executive Director of TransTech Social Enterprises NFP Mike Ghuneim Hate Crimes Investigator with the Chicago Police Department Alan Spellberg Assistant State s Attorney, Supervisor, Criminal Appeals Division, Cook County State s Attorney s Office Moderator: Phoenix Matthews, Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at UIC Matthews introduced the panel before turning the presentation over to Mike Ghuneim. Ghuneim Ghuneim points out that the concept of equality was woven into our founding documents. Ghuneim looks from a historical perspective at how people have been treated differently. Ghuneim asks officers to consider a young person who is thrown out of their home for being gay. Often that child has never given his/her parents a problem at school or at home. If parents can target a child because they are different, so can offenders. In 1969, Federal Hate Crimes Law gave the United States Department of Justice power to investigate hate crimes based on race, ethnicity and religion when victims were engaged in a federally protected activity, like going to school. Jurisdictions are not bound by the law to participate and they do not have to report their hate crime numbers. In 2009, the federal government removed the pre-requisite that the victim be engaged in a federally protected activity and expanded who was covered. The federal government has the ability to investigate and prosecute when current law is inadequate. Only 30 states include sexual orientation, only 26 states include gender, only 12 states include gender identity and only 30 states include disability. In addition there are five states with no hate crime laws: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming.
A hate crime occurs because of - it is where an individual is targeted because of a difference protected under the law. Illinois law covers race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual, regardless of any other motivating factor. This includes the actual or perceived membership in one of these categories. Problems around the world increase spikes in hate crimes. There are different types of offenders: thrill seeking (those who do it for the excitement), defensive (those who feel they are protecting their neighborhoods from outsiders), retaliatory (those who commit offenses in response to other crimes), mission (career bigotry, those committed to the thought), and environmental (learned behavior from family, peers and/or neighbors). The criminal process begins when the police are contacted. At that point, a police report is generated. Parallel investigations are conducted by the area detective division and the civil rights section. When an offender is in custody, the State s Attorney s Office makes a determination of the charge. Ghuneim reminds participants that a charge does not equal a conviction. A conviction is made by a judge or jury. Hate incidents (non-criminal occurrences) can be reported to the police as a report. Spellberg Prosecuting hate crimes is a high priority in the State s Attorney s Office. The ultimate decisions to charge are made at the bureau chief level. There are two parts to a hate crime process- the police and the State s Attorney s Office. There are four separate statutes that address hate crimes: Hate Crime, Institutional Vandalism, Conspiracy Against Civil Rights and Felony Sentencing. If the police believe that a hate crime was committed they contact the felony review unit. They will approve a hate crime charge if there is sufficient evidence that the crime is: 1. One of the enumerated offenses (assault, aggravated assault, battery, theft, criminal trespass, criminal damage, etc.) and 2. Was committed at least in part because of hate or bias.
Institutional Vandalism is a corollary statute, covering crimes against the community where: 1. Damage to a house of religious worship, school, cemetery, facility and 2. The offense was committed at least in part out of hate or bias. Determining hate or bias: - Words, symbols or actions that are offensive to an identified group - Were victims and offenders members of different groups? - Is there historical tension between these groups? - Has group been subjected to prior criminal acts? - Members of groups can commit hate crimes against members of the same group. - Recent political activity - Recent holiday - Does offender indicate bias? - Does the offender have a prior history? - Is the attack particularly vicious? Hate crimes are typically committed by males between the ages of 14 and 24 who do not have prior criminal records. These offenders typically are unaffiliated with any hate groups. According to FBI statistics, in 2012, there were 7,164 victims of hate crimes. - 48.5% were targeted based on race - 19.2% were targeted based on religion - 18.7% were targeted based on sexual orientation - 12.1% were targeted based on ethnicity or national origin - 1.4% were targeted based on disability Of the 3,467 race based hate crimes - 66.2% were victimized based on an anti-african American bias - 22% were victimized based on an anti-white bias - 4.1% were victimized based on an anti-asian and Pacific Islander bias - 3.3% were victimized based on an anti-american Indian/Alaskan Native bias - 4.4% were victimized based on a bias against a group of persons in which more than one race was represented
Of the 1,340 religion based hate crimes: - 62.4% were victimized based on an anti-jewish bias - 11.6% were victimized based on an anti-muslim bias - 6.4% were victimized based on an anti-catholic bias - 2.6% were victimized based on an anti-protestant bias - 0.9% were victimized based on an anti-atheists or Agnostic bias - 8.6% were victimized based on a bias against other religions - 7.5% were victimized based on a bias against a group of persons in which more than one religion was represented Of the 1,376 sexual orientation based hate crimes: - 53.9% were victimized based on an anti-male homosexual bias - 28.6% were victimized based on an anti-homosexual bias - 12.7% were victimized based on an anti-female homosexual bias - 3.0% were victimized based on an anti-bisexual bias - 1.9% were victimized based on an anti-heterosexual bias Of the 866 ethnicity/national origin based hate crimes: - 59.4% were victimized based on an anti-hispanic bias - 40% were victimized based on a bias against other ethnicities or national origins Of the 102 disability based hate crimes: - 82 people were victimized based on an anti-mental disability bias - 20 people were victimized based on an anti-physical disability bias If an offender is found guilty of a hate crime or institutional vandalism, he/she faces: - 1-3 years in the Department of Corrections for a hate crime - 2-5 years for institutional vandalism In addition, the court must order restitution. If there is no victim, the court must order a fine up to $1,000. Prison is not mandatory. An offender can get probation. However, if an offender is given probation, the court must order the defendant to serve at least 200 hours of community service. Typically, the judge will order the defendant to service the community of the victim.
If a hate crime was not charged: if the state s attorney was not called, they will send it up to review to see if it should be charged as a felony. A hate crime is a class 4 felony, a low level felony. Often a hate crime is not charged on more serious felonies because they don t want a jury to say that the offender did not mean the larger crime. Instead, the State s Attorney will ask for a more severe sentence. Often people will ask about the First Amendment and hate crimes. Hate crimes are constitutional because they punish conduct not speech. Spellberg closed with a passage by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson called, Why Hate Crimes Matter. Ross Ross s organization focuses on transgender people or color but is open to all LGBTQ persons. Her organization provides training in technology. Ross identifies as Black, female and trans female. Each identity brings a layer that plays a part in being targeted. Transgender people in Chicago have experienced a lot of hate crimes but they have been under-reported. Many trans women go to prison for fighting their attackers. Ross provided the example of CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman who was physically attacked and called a tranny by a group of four men. McDonald was coming home from a sewing class at the time of the attack and used scissors from her class to fight off her attackers, stabbing one of the men. Ross states that crimes against transgender people are often crimes against women. In the community there is a term, clockable, which refers to whether or not someone passes. Ross states that she can go to the restroom because of passing privilege. Passing privilege is survival. Ross explains that the moment people find out that you are not what they think you are your life is in danger. There is a misconception that trans women are deceivers. Trans women, especially trans women of color, are in high demand. Trans women have become so targeted by men who act in ways that are unhealthy towards trans women. Ross s passing privilege has made it safer for her. It is duty of people who are not trans to change things and reduce the fear element. Ross gets tired; she is trying to live her life and lead a company. Outside of this room,
she would not know who from the room she could trust. As a visible transgender person, she does not know if she is safe. Audience Member: Ross identified the intersection between crimes against transgender people and misogyny. How many hate crimes do you see as crimes against cisgendered women? Ghuneim: He has not identified a cisgendered complaint. It is a perfect example of underreporting. Spellberg: Crimes against women are very frequent but from a hate crimes perspective, they often do not have the evidence available to prosecute them. Audience Member: Coming from Walgreens recently, a man just kept trying to pursue her. He would not take no. He did not know that she was trans, but because she said no to him, he came up and punched her in her back. She did not report it. She just wanted to go home and be safe. She wanted it to be over and done. Audience Member: Every day, he deals with hate, people who don t like others. When people do not get what they want, they hate. He works with Ghuneim on hate crimes. The audience member is a gay white male who passes as a heterosexual white male. He has children with a lesbian couple. He passes but spends time talking, educating and telling others. Audience Member: Every rape of a female person could be a hate crime. Recently the gamergate situation arose about representation of women in games. The woman raising this concern received very specific death threats. Somewhere between that and every sexual assault of a female is a hate crime. Ghuneim: Provability in court of hate motivation is difficult because often cisgendered victims know their offender. Spellberg: The prosecutor has to consider whether adding a hate crime charge makes the crime harder to prosecute. In an attempted rape, if they add in a hate crime charge, the burden becomes more difficult. The jury will often go with the hate crime because it is a smaller charge. Matthews: At the federal level, is more being done to document hate crimes against transgender people? Spellberg: The ADL and other groups have been pushing to have more representation for transgender people.
Ross: At a White House event Ross was at, it was said that a stronger effort is being made. Audience Member: In terms of transgender folks navigating the criminal justice system, you have some people who don t want to identify. You see a similar challenge with the census. There is a mistrust of law enforcement and the justice system by transgender people but also challenges with navigating the system. Audience Member: Campus Security offices are obligated to report crimes including those against transgender people. Both sworn and non-sworn campus security units are mandated to report. The Federal government requires campuses to track all of this information, but they don t require the same of municipalities. While campus security is required to provide the information, they are not given any additional resources to manage the responsibility to report. Audience Member: Even if there is not a charge of a hate crime, can you file a suit for civil damages? Spellberg: The statute has always included a civil component allowing the victim to sue the offender and it includes specific authority to award attorney fees. The statute includes a provision that if the perpetrator was a juvenile, the parents can be made to pay up to $20,000. Audience Member: [To Ross] As it relates to employment, a lot of your participants have dealt with systemic trauma. How do you create a shift to employment? Ross: In order to feel alright about a crappy job, the rest of your life has to be something you look forward to. For transgender people, society does not yet offer enough affirming situations. At TransTech, they consider a training/leadership mode and a harm reduction model. Transgender women working the streets face a lot of violence and increase risk factors. TransTech offers innovation and programming that gives these women certain skills to get into better situations. TransTech provides hard skills that allow people to have more power and control in their lives. Matthews: What would be the community conversation each panelist would like to hear? Ghuneim: Fostering partnerships between the community and policy. Open dialogues. We need to be more comfortable with each other. The public needs to be educated. Spellberg: A better understanding of the prosecutor s role.
Ross: More accountability factors, checking the temperature in the room. Recognize the connection between the individual and the collective. The ability to walk into any building and be safe. Holding ourselves accountable to a standard and assessing that.
Breakout Description Hate Crimes 101 Cardinal Room 1:30 to 2:45 Description: Hate crimes are acts of bigotry and not only harm the victim, but also the group in which the targeted member belongs. Do you know what the elements of a hate crime are and how to recognize when a hate crime has been committed? Do you know how to report and what actions you can expect from the Chicago Police and the State s Attorney s Office? Learning Objectives: What is the impact of a hate crime on the larger community and what actions should you take when you witness or experience a hate crime. Panelists: Angelica Ross, Founding CEO and Executive Director of TransTech Social Enterprises, NFP, will discuss how hate crimes cause severe trauma, not only to the individual but to an entire community. Trans people are targeted for hate crimes when they are 'clocked' or recognized as being trans. The intersection of being trans and a women of color in a society that is misogynist increases the probability of violence. The reality of violence experienced by individuals reverberates in a community that has statistically been shown to experience high levels of violence. Mike Ghuneim, Hate Crimes Investigator with the Chicago Police Department, will discuss the different types of hate crimes, motive and processes for justice and what you can expect when you report to the Chicago Police. Alan Spellberg, Assistant State s Attorney, Supervisor, Criminal Appeals Division, Cook County State s Attorney s Office, will explain hate crime laws, clarify myths and misconceptions, and discuss community impact as it relates to prosecuting hate crimes. Moderator: Phoenix Matthews is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at UIC and will moderate a discussion on what we can expect when a hate crime is reported. Phoenix's research and activism focuses on the promotion of health equity in racial/ethnic and LGBTQ populations.