Hate Crime

Abstract

Hate crime is a relatively new category of criminal law and still developing field for criminological research. Scholars have debated the purpose and efficacy of hate crime laws since their introduction in the late 1970s, but research has found that hate crimes vary from non‐hate crimes in important ways. Unique characteristics of the crimes, the impact upon victims and society, the symbolic importance of the laws, and the difficulties faced when enforcing them all make hate crimes an important and interesting area for scholars to study and for the criminal justice system to implement.