(1) The following
criteria can assist law enforcement officers in determining whether a
particular crime should be classified as a hate crime. These criteria are not
all inclusive, and each case must be examined on its own facts and
circumstances. Common sense judgment should also be applied in making the
determination whether a crime should be classified as a hate crime.
(a) The offender and the victim were of
different racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap, gender or sexual
orientation groups. For example, the victim was black and the offenders were
white.
(b) Bias-related oral
comments, written statements, or gestures were made by the offender which
indicate his/her bias. For example, the offender shouted a racial or anti-gay
epithet at the victim or made an abusive or pejorative reference based on
gender.
(c) Bias-related drawings,
markings, symbols, or graffiti were left at the crime scene. For example, a
swastika was painted on the door of a synagogue.
(d) Certain objects, items, or things which
indicate bias were used (e.g., the offenders wore white sheets and white hoods)
or left behind by the offenders(s) (e.g., a burning cross was left in front of
the victim's residence).
(e) The
victim is a member of a racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap,
gender or sexual orientation group which is overwhelmingly outnumbered by
members of another group in the area where the victim lives or works and the
incident took place.
(f) The victim
was visiting a location where previous hate crimes had been committed against
other members of his/her racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap,
gender or sexual orientation group and where tensions remain high against
his/her group.
(g) Several
incidents have occurred in the same locality, at or about the same time, and
the victims are all of the same racial, religious, ethnic/national origin,
handicap, gender or sexual orientation group.
(h) Victims or witnesses perceive that the
incident was motivated by bias.
(i)
The victim was engaged in activities promoting a racial, religious,
ethnic/national origin, handicap, gender or sexual orientation group. For
example, the victim is a member of the NAACP, participated in gay rights
demonstrations, etc.
(j) The
incident coincided with a holiday relating to or a date of particular
significance to, a racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap, gender
or sexual orientation group (e.g., Martin Luther King Day, Rosh Hashanah,
Gay/Lesbian Pride Day, etc.).
(k)
The offender was previously involved in a similar hate crime or is a member of,
or associates with, a hate group.
(l) There were indications that a hate group
was involved. For example, a hate group claimed responsibility for the crime or
was active in the neighborhood.
(m)
A historically established animosity exists between the victim's
ethnic/national/religious group and the offender's ethnic/national/religious
group.
(n) The victim, although not
a member of the targeted racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap,
gender or sexual orientation group, is a member of an advocacy group supporting
the precepts of the victim group, or is friendly with members of a victim
group.
(o) The victim was in or
near an area or place commonly associated with or frequented by a particular
racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap, gender or sexual
orientation group (e.g., a gay bar).
(p) There was no clear economic motive for an
assault and battery.
(q) The victim
was in the company of, or married to, a member of a targeted group.
(r) The victim has received harassing mail or
phone calls or has been victim of verbal abuse based on his/her affiliation
with a targeted group.
(s) The
victim was perceivable by the offender as violating or breaking from role
conventions or stereotypes, or working in non-traditional employment.
(t) The crime involved extreme mutilation,
cruelty, or brutality.
(u) The
offender has been subject to M.G.L. c. 209A restraining orders against two or
more different women.
(v) The
offender has a history of previous crimes with a similar modus operandi, and
there have been multiple victims of the same racial, religious, ethnic/national
origin, handicap, gender or sexual orientation group.
(2) Bias indicators need not establish that
the predominant purpose of a perpetrator's actions was motivated by hatred or
bias. It is sufficient for classification of an incident as a hate crime that a
perpetrator was acting out of hatred or bias, together with other motives; or
that a bias motive was a contributing factor, in whole or in part, in the
commission of a criminal act.
(3)
For a crime to be classifiable as a hate crime, it is sufficient that bias
indicator(s) would, in the exercise of professional law enforcement judgment,
directly or circumstantially support a finding of a bias motive. Bias
indicators need not conclusively demonstrate that a criminal act was motivated
by bias or bigotry. In some instances, one bias indicator may be sufficient to
support an inference that a crime was motivated by bias or bigotry (e.g.,
bias-related epithets or markings). In other cases, more than one bias
indicator may be necessary to warrant such an inference. In each instance, a
law enforcement judgment is necessary to assess whether a given crime was hate
motivated.
(4) Facts or
circumstances deemed sufficient to support an arrest or criminal charge under
M.G.L. c. 265, §§ 37 and 39; c. 266, § 127A, and c. 272, §
92A are automatically sufficient for classification and reporting of an
incident as a hate crime.
(5) Even
if the offender was mistaken in his/her belief that the victim was a member of
a racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap, or sexual orientation
group, the offense is still a hate crime as long as the offender was motivated
by bias against that group. For example, a non-gay man walking by a bar
frequented by gays was attacked by six teenagers mistakenly believing the
victim to be gay. Although the offenders were mistaken, the offense is a hate
crime because it was motivated by the offenders' anti-gay bias.
