Hate Crimes and Data Collection

Hate crimes are under reported by victims and the news, particularly the national newspapers. It is mostly random, and therefore the collection of data depends upon the diligence and commitment of those willing to really pay attention. This project was envisioned because of the critical need to report on such crimes. It will include hundreds of church persons and groups, legislative offices and activists across the country who will be working with us – clipping home town newspapers and making notes regarding television and radio reports – all of which will allow us to accumulate and analyze the national problems and challenges which face us.

Hate Crimes are growing in the United States as are hate groups. Our collective, ultimate goal is to help secure a community where no person lives in fear or experience of racism, bias or bigotry. Clearly and unfortunately, this remains a challenge to our society. But, this project will help us understand the current situation, accumulate data nationwide, do trend analysis, report on the findings and initiate a dialogue based upon empirical data to address underlying causes.

Hate Crimes are defined as illegal acts committed because of race, ethnicity, sexual preference or religious bigotry. Victims can be Asian, Latino, Native American, Black, Muslim, Jewish, White, Gay, Interracial Couples, etc. We are collecting information on incidents that have occurred purely due to hate of a group that is different, not other causes or motives. While there are crimes that involve one of these groups which may not qualify as racially motivated crimes, if you have any doubt, please send the article and/or report and let us determine its qualification.

Newspapers often do not report all the facts. Sometimes you will see only one report. Other times incidents are followed by reporters from the initial report of an event to the court cases of the perpetrators. African American, Jewish, ethnic, community, weekly, urban/suburban newspapers often report hate crimes that do not appear in your daily newspaper. It would be very helpful if you could regularly scan these newspapers for incidents. Please include clippings from your town as well as other locations in your state or adjoining states if that is possible.

Each clipping should have the name and date of the newspaper clearly printed on it. Ideally include the first page's 'mast-head' with name of the publication and the date. If you make notes about a radio or television report, give us a brief description of the incident and include the local/national network and reporter's name if possible, so that we can follow-up by phone. We are now looking at the possibility of doing on-line tracking as well. As this planning unfolds, we shall alert you.

We plan to publish a database and chronology of the events and report on them so you will be able to see your work bear fruit. Should you be interested in learning more about trend analysis and how we are analyzing the data, let us know. We are thinking about a seminar at some point to further discuss how such information is analyzed and trends discovered.

Please send articles and/or reports to the Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries, Attn: Ministries in the Midst of Hate & Violence, The United Methodist Church, 475 Riverside Drive, Rm 1502, NY, NY 10115-0050.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!