Hate Crimes Investigations

Course Description

Hate crimes are message crimes. It’s through violence that perpetrators send a message to victims, targeted groups, and communities that their self-identity or core beliefs are unacceptable to them; shattering victims’ sense of belonging, resulting in exclusion, isolation, or even worse, living in fear. Each year thousands of Americans are victims of hate crimes. According to the FBI’s latest Hate Crime Statistics report, 5,479 hate crimes were reported by law enforcement in 2014, involving 6,418 offenses to the agency’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program (https://www.fbi.gov). In 2014, the 5,479 documented hate crimes committed left 6,727 victims in the aftermath (https://www.fbi.gov). These crimes of bigotry not only terrorize targeted victims, and destroy communities, but tear at the very fibers of our society that make our country, the “Land of the Free,” our Constitutional rights guaranteeing each of us the freedom of choice. Every citizen of this country has the right to unreservedly express their identity, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion without fear of being victimized or reprisal. Persons with disabilities, have the right to be safe from violence, and from being targeted because of their vulnerabilities. Hate crimes/incidents require officer awareness of the elements of the crime, victim, and offender characteristics to proficiently to identify, investigate, and prepare cases for successful prosecution to obtain justice for victims, restoring a feeling of safety for them, as well as their communities.

This course is designed to provide officers with the information and best practices of investigating these crimes to ensure successful prosecution of perpetrators. Each instructional block is designed to actively involve officers in learning practical information they can use in the field. Identification of these crimes is highly emphasized in this course, as it is the cornerstone of any investigation. Investigations is a key component of this course, as well as bias indicators, investigative tools, hate crime laws, offender and victim characteristics. Participants will learn about personal biases and how they are catalysts for discrimination and racism, escalating to violence against targeted victims. This is a highly interactive course, requiring attendees to participate in facilitated discussions, and work groups to learn valuable information about bigotry, victim trauma, offender characteristics, and investigative tools for successful prosecution of offenders.

Course Topics

  • Hate Crimes Overview
  • Biases & Prejudices
  • Offenders & Typologies
  • Hate Crime Laws
  • Victimology
  • Investigating Hate Crimes

Course Certification Number: POST Special Seminar
Course Certification Hours: 24

Course Fee Information: $0.00

POST Special Seminar: There is no tuition or travel reimbursement for POST reimbursable agencies.
Non-Reimbursable agencies: There is no tuition or travel reimbursement for POST Non-Reimbursable agencies.