This study examines the social forces that affect law enforcement participation in hate crime data collection initiatives. Focused interviews were conducted in a stratified sample of police officers from various departments in 2 East Coast states. The findings from these interviews were used to create a survey instrument that was distributed to a sample of police officers and civilian employees in 4 police agencies, 1 from each region of the United States: Northeast, West, South, and Central. The survey findings reduced to 60 interrelated variables identified at the focus groups to 10 common factors (or constructs). These factors are: (a) organizational attitudes/beliefs; (b) utility in community relations; (c) organizational self-preservation; (d) efficacy of police involvement; (e) priority of resource allocations; (f) supportive organizational policies and practices; (g) individual attitudes/beliefs; (h) professional self-preservation; (i) work-related difficulties; and (j) organizational commitment. The results of this study provide valuable insight into ways to improve law enforcement participation in hate crime reporting.

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The Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) of 1990 set into motion the structure and mechanisms for identifying and collecting data on the occurrence of hate crimes in this country. In this article, the authors briefly describe the data-collection program that was developed by the FBI and others in response to the HCSA. The authors also examine the FBI's progress in implementing this program as an adjunct to the widely known Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Trends in law enforcement participation in the national program, along with steps being taken to improve this participation, are also examined. Also, the authors explore the future benefits that are anticipated as the UCR program shifts from a summary-based program to one that collects data on each criminal incident. Finally, the authors make general observations about hate crime in the United States based on the data currently held by the FBI.

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