A hate crime is a crime that happens when someone commits a criminal act because of bias or prejudice toward another person or group. This can include bias against someone’s race, color, religion, nation origin or ancestry, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, citizenship or immigration status.
Under Illinois law (720 ILCS 5/12-7.1), a hate crime must involve both a criminal act and proof that the act was motivated by bias.
It’s not automatically a hate crime just because the offender dislikes or holds prejudice against a group. Investigators must have evidence that the bias was part of the reason for the crime. For example, graffiti with racist words or symbols might not be determined to be a hate crime right away. This determination may change should investigators find that bias motivated the act.
Rules and Considerations of Hate Crimes
For a crime to be classified as a hate crime, there must be clear facts showing that it happened because of the victim’s protected class (such as race, religion, or gender).
- Sometimes these facts exist early on and are evident. Sometimes they must be determined through further investigation.
- If there isn’t enough evidence to show bias, the crime is not classified as a hate crime. If new facts are found later, the classification may be changed.
- A crime that seems related to hate is not always a hate crime.
Example: If white supremacy graffiti is found on a garage and the people who live there are also white, it likely wasn’t done because of their protected class. In that case, it would not be classified as a hate crime.