Session C Bias 

Crime Offenders

Overview of the Session: At a Glance

Presentation: Offender Typology--30 minutes
Presentation: Organized Hate Groups--15 minutes
Activity: Analysis of Three Video Segments--45 minutes
TOTAL TIME--90 minutes

Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
o Describe the characteristics of three types of bias crime offenders 
o Give examples of retaliatory hate crimes and discuss the importance of
appropriate responses
o Describe the characteristics of organized hate groups 
o Identify offender typology, given a case example

Materials and Equipment

Time: 90 minutes
Videos: "That Old Gang of Mine" (interview with Eric, former skinhead),
1990
"On Hate Street," 48 Hours, CBS, 1992
"Licensed to Kill," Arthur Dong, Deepfocus Productions, 1997
Handouts: Thrill-Seeking Offenders; Case Studies of Typical Offenders;
Reactive Offenders; Mission Offenders; Offender Typology Video
Observation Form
Transparencies: Important of Understanding Offender Typology;
Retaliatory Hate Crimes; Organized Hate Groups
Equipment: Overhead projector; screen; VCR; monitor

Note to Instructor

The offender typology presented in this session is designed to help
professionals understand the different motivations and characteristics of
"typical" hate crime offenders and the implications for responding to hate
violence. It is not intended to overgeneralize or to presume that
perpetrators will necessarily fit into one category.

Explain to participants that this typology is evolving as research on hate
crime offenders continues. The terms, such as "thrill-seeking" or "mission,"
are the ones originally used by Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt in their
seminal book on hate crime.1 Other hate crime experts may use different
terms for the same typology. To encourage discussion, you may wish to ask
participants for their ideas about the typology and its relevance to
perpetrators they have encountered.

Instructor's Notes

I. Presentation: Offender Typology (30 minutes)

Explain the following:

o Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt of Northeastern University identified three
different types of hate crime offenders in their book on bias crime, Hate
Crime: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed: thrill-seeking offenders,
reactive offenders, and mission offenders. 

o These are not necessarily pure categories, and, since offenders can
progress from one type to another, the lines between the categories may at
times be blurred.

Use Transparency C1, "Importance of Understanding Offender Typology."

Importance of Understanding Offender Typology

Knowing offender typology helps law enforcement do the following:

o Identify suspects 
o Locate offenders
o Gain insight into the victim's perception of his or her vulnerability
o Gain insight into the offender's motivation
o Determine the probability of escalation
o Anticipate community response

Distribute Handout C1, "Thrill-Seeking Offenders." 

Thrill-Seeking Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Usually, groups of teenagers
o Not generally associated with an organized hate group

Precipitating Events
o Generally, none

Motivation
o To get a psychological or social thrill
o To be accepted by peers
o To gain "bragging" rights

Victim
o Almost any member of a vulnerable group
o Members of groups perceived as inferior by offenders

Location
o Generally outside of offenders' "turf"
o Area(s) frequented by members of targeted group(s) 

Additional Characteristics
o Most common type of hate crime; represents approximately 60 percent
of all cases
o Since attacks are random, it is often difficult to identify the offenders
o Attacks often involve desecration and vandalism, although they can also
involve more violent crimes
o Hatred of victim is relatively superficial; offenders may be deterred from
repeating the crime if there is strong societal response condemning the
behavior
o Each group member's participation may be limited to a specific aspect of
the crime, enabling each offender to avoid acknowledgment of or
accountability for the seriousness of the crime

Distribute Handout C2, "Case Studies of Typical Offenders." Note: This
handout will be used to explore all three offender types.

Case Studies of Typical Offenders 

Thrill-Seeking Offenders
Two alienated white youths looking for excitement went on a spree of
destruction and defacement that resulted in attacks on 23 properties in
three different communities. They defaced walls, driveways, and
automobiles with slurs against Jews, African Americans, Greeks, and even
skinheads. After their arrest, the men claimed that they hadn't intended to
hurt anyone--that it only happened because they were drunk.

Encourage one participant to provide a case example of a thrill-seeking bias
crime from his or her jurisdiction or state.

Distribute Handout C3, "Reactive Offenders."

Reactive Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Have a sense of entitlement regarding their rights, privileges, or way of
life, which does not extend to the victim
o Usually have no prior history of criminal behavior or overt bigotry; not
generally associated with an organized hate group, although may call on an
organized hate group to assist in mitigating the perceived threat

Precipitating Events
o Offenders perceive a threat to their way of life, community, place of
work, or privilege

Motivation
o To protect or defend against the perceived threat constituted by the
presence of "outsiders"
o To use fear and intimidation to send a message that will repel the
"outsiders"

Victim(s)
o Particular individual or group of individuals who are perceived to
constitute the threat
o Most often, people of color

Location
o Typically, offender's own neighborhood, school, or place of work

Additional Characteristics
o If the threat is perceived to subside, criminal behavior also subsides
o Offenders feel little if any guilt because they perceive their behavior as a
justifiable response to their feelings of violation at the mere presence of the
victim

Refer participants back to Handout C2, "Case Studies of Typical
Offenders."

Reactive Offenders

In Jersey City, New Jersey, an East Indian chemist was severely beaten
with an iron bar in his own apartment by a racist who resented the presence
of "Hindus" in his neighborhood.

In Wheaton, Maryland, two young white men unable to find work stopped
their car and chased two African American women, who were walking
from their apartment to a pay phone. One woman ran toward a house and
was rescued by the occupant, who heard one of the assailants warn, "If you
knock on that door again, I'll kill you." The other woman tried to escape
into the woods, where she fell. The attackers beat her head and face,
ripped off her blouse, and doused her with lighter fluid. As they attempted
to light the fluid, police cars arrived at the scene. Both men escaped but
were later apprehended. They were charged with attempted murder,
assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to maim, kidnaping, and
(under a 1988 bias crime statute) attempting to injure a person for racial
reasons.

Encourage one participant to provide a case example of a reactive bias
crime from his or her jurisdiction or state.

Distribute Handout C4, "Mission Offenders."

Mission Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Often psychotic, suffering from mental illness that may cause
hallucinations, impaired ability to reason, and withdrawal from other people
o Perceive victim groups as evil, subhuman, and/or animal

Precipitating Events
o None

Motivation
o Believe they have been instructed by a higher order (God, the Fuhrer, the
Imperial Wizard, etc.) to rid the world of this evil
o Believe they must get even for the misfortunes they have suffered and
perceive a conspiracy of some kind being perpetrated by the groups they
have targeted
o Have a sense of urgency about the mission; believe they must act before it
is too late

Victim
o Any or all members of the category of people they perceive as
responsible for their frustrations

Location
o Areas where members of the targeted group are likely to be found

Additional Characteristics
o The rarest kind of bias crime
o Crimes are of a violent nature; the mission may end in the offender's
suicide

Note to Instructor

Clarify for participants that the category of retaliatory hate crimes does not
encompass all forms of retaliation or revenge. It refers specifically to hate
crimes in which a victim is selected at random because of his or her race,
religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

In concluding the discussion of the offender typology, ask participants what
bearing the typology and motivation of the offender has on the impact on
the victim and on the community as a whole. Would participants anticipate
different effects depending on the motivation? Does it matter?

Refer participants back to Handout C2, "Case Studies of Typical Offenders."

Mission Offenders

Marc Lepine entered the engineering school at the University of Montreal
with the intent of "getting even" with women, especially feminist women,
whom he perceived as having ruined his life. He walked into a classroom,
directed the men to leave, and ordered the women to move to one side of the
room, saying, "I want the women. You're all a bunch of feminists. I hate
feminists." 

He opened fire and killed 14 women between the classroom, the hallways,
and the cafeteria, and then took his own life.

Encourage one participant to provide a case example of a mission bias crime
from his or her jurisdiction or state.

Retaliatory Hate Crime 

Ongoing analysis of offender research and hate crime cases has revealed that
it may be necessary to add "retaliatory" as a category to the hate crime
typology.[2] Retaliatory hate crimes are those motivated by revenge for a
specific incident perceived to be rooted in discrimination or hatred. 

Use Transparency C2, "Retaliatory Hate Crime," to review the major points
that characterize retaliatory hate crime, using the cases below as an
illustration.

Two well-known cases illustrate retaliatory hate crime:

o During the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of Los Angeles
police officers in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, a group of young
black males dragged white truck driver Reginald Denny from the cab of his
truck and severely beat him within an inch of his life. This attack has been
described as a retaliatory hate crime that occurred in response to the police
brutality against Rodney King, and to widespread public perception that the
justice system had failed to protect King's civil rights.

o In 1991, a Jewish scholar named Yankel Rosenbaum was randomly
selected and killed during an uprising in the Crown Heights section of
Brooklyn, New York. The precipitating event for the unrest was the death of
a young black child who was accidentally killed by an Orthodox Jewish
driver. Rumors spread throughout the black community that a Hasidic-owned
ambulance company had refused to treat the black children injured in the
accident and instead had attended to the Jewish passengers. The police
reported that they had ordered the ambulance to remove the Jewish driver
from the scene to protect him from the angry crowd. Fueled by the rumors,
black youths marched through the streets shouting, "Kill the Jews."
Rosenbaum, a visiting scholar from Australia who had nothing to do with the
accident, was killed amidst several days of racial hostilities.

These two painful events from our history illustrate the complex nature of
retaliatory hate crime. In both examples, the victim was selected merely
because of his race and in retaliation for other bias incidents. Both occurred
within a context of racial unrest fueled by perceptions of discrimination. And
both demonstrate the devastation that can occur if the public perceives that
acts of discrimination or hatred are not met with an appropriate response
from law enforcement and the justice system.

II. Presentation: Organized Hate Groups (15 minutes)

Use Transparency C3, "Organized Hate Groups."

Organized Hate Groups

Group Characteristics
o Range from loosely structured local groups to highly structured international
groups
o Leaders of the groups tend to project a mainstream image rather than a
fringe, extremist image
o The significant organized hate groups are technologically sophisticated
o Skinheads, although generally not official members of organized hate
groups, often support or are loosely affiliated with these groups, taking
inspiration and direction from them
o Focus on issues of concern to middle America as a method for cloaking
and marketing their hate philosophy (i.e., "government interference,"
"cheating," etc.)
o Believe in the inevitability of a global war between the races
o Examples of organized hate groups include White Aryan Resistance, the Ku
Klux Klan, and neo-Nazis

History of Organized Hate Groups
o Organized hate groups are not a new phenomenon.
o Hate groups characteristically grow in numbers and membership during:
---periods of increased immigration, such as the 1920s
---periods when disenfranchised groups have attempted to increase their
political and economic power, such as Reconstruction and the Civil Rights 
Movement
---periods of economic instability, when people seek scapegoats to blame for
unemployment, such as the 1930s and the late 1980s
o At times, organized hate groups have been powerful forces in American
political life. Many have sought dominance through violence and intimidation.
Others have achieved significant political victories in electoral politics.
o Organized hate groups have a tendency to become fragmented, breaking up
because of internal dissension. Groups often take names similar to those used
by other hate groups, which should not imply an actual connection; for
example, there are many small groups that use the term "skins" in their name.

Structure of Contemporary Hate Groups
o It has been estimated that there are currently no fewer than 20,000 and
possibly no more than 50,000, members of white supremacist groups in the
United States. These groups fall into a number of often overlapping
categories, including Ku Klux Klan groups, neo-Nazi groups, Christian
Identity groups, and "skinhead" gangs.

Hate Group Ideology
o Explicitly racist; considers people of color to be subhuman. Homophobia
has recently been added to their agenda.
o Often blame the federal government, an international Jewish conspiracy,
and/or communism for most of this country's problems. 
o Some groups include apocalyptic Christianity in their ideology and believe
we are in, or approaching, a period of violence and social turmoil that will
precede the Second Coming of Christ.

Strategy
o The major organized hate groups often take a more sophisticated approach
to spreading their message, using such venues as cable TV, the World Wide
Web, and computer bulletin boards.
o Some are consciously attempting to display a more mainstream image and
run for office (often under the banner of a major political party). However,
there is always the potential for violence. For example, during the 1980s, a
small number of white supremacists formed a paramilitary organization called
The Order, which was implicated in a number of bombings and murders,
including that of Alan Berg, a Jewish radio talk show host. 
o Many of the militant white supremacist groups have relocated to congregate
in certain geographical areas, such as the Pacific Northwest, where members
have engaged in a number of armed confrontations with federal authorities.

Skinheads
o Skinhead groups are small, loosely organized gangs of adolescents and
young adults. Most skinheads are male, although young women are involved
in both skinhead activity and hate violence.
o Skinhead violence is typically perpetrated by small groups of skinheads
who attack persons of color or other targets, using fists, boots, bats, and
knives. Some of these attacks are fatal. Most are unplanned; however some
skinheads have been implicated in organized violence involving bombs and
firearms and carefully selected targets, such as gay bars, temples, or the
offices of civil rights organizations.
o The stereotypical skinhead has a shaved head and wears Doc Marten
shoes or workboots, suspenders, and jeans. However, so do many other
young people who are not involved in hate group activity. Conversely, many
racist "skinheads" do not shave their heads.

III. Activity: Analysis of Three Video Segments(45 minutes)

Tell participants that they are about to watch several videos and that their
challenge is to categorize the offender based on the typology. Instruct
participants to take notes as they watch the videos so that they will be
prepared to share both their categorization of the offender and the reasoning
behind their choices. Distribute Handout C5, "Offender Typology Video
Observation Form."

Videos recommended for this activity are listed below. Instructors are
advised to order the videos 4 to 6 weeks in advance of the training. Be sure
to screen the videos and select those segments that best fit the course and the
time available.

o "That Old Gang of Mine" (interview with Eric, former skinhead); The
Bureau for At-Risk Youth; 135 Dupont Street; P.O. Box 760; Plainview,
NY 11803; Phone: (800) 999-6884, ext. 262. Price: $125 

o "Licensed to Kill," Arthur Dong; Deepfocus Productions, Inc.; P.O. Box
39548; Los Angeles, CA 90039-0548; Phone: (323) 662-6575; FAX:
323/662-6577; E-mail: AdongLA@aol.com;
http://www.filmmag.com/community/adong/
77-minute full length theatrical version: $295
53-minute special edited version: $245
A comprehensive study guide accompanies the video.

o "On Hate Street," 48 Hours, CBS; February 26, 1992
CBS Network Television: (800) 934-NEWS

Show the three video segments. Ask participants to note their observations
on the form.

Facilitate a discussion at the conclusion of each video segment, using the
following questions to focus the discussion: 

o Can you identify the typology of the offender(s) in the videos?

o What might cause the offender to move into another type of offender
category?

o Have you had any experience with any of the offender types portrayed in
the videos?

Transparency C1

IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING OFFENDER TYPOLOGY

Knowing offender typology helps law enforcement:

o identify suspects 

o locate offenders

o gain insight into the victim's perception of his or her vulnerability

o gain insight into the offender's motivation

o determine the probability of escalation

o anticipate community response

Handout C1

Thrill-Seeking Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Usually, groups of teenagers

o Not generally associated with an organized hate group

Precipitating Events
o Generally, none

Motivation
o To get a psychological or social thrill

o To be accepted by peers

o To gain "bragging" rights

Victim
o Almost any member of a vulnerable group

o Members of groups perceived as inferior by offenders

Location
o Generally outside of offender's "turf''

o Area(s) frequented by targeted group(s)

Additional Characteristics
o Most common type of hate crime; represents approximately 60 percent of
all cases

o Since attacks are random, it is often difficult to identify the offenders

o Attacks often involve desecration and vandalism, although they can also
involve more violent crimes

o Hatred of victim is relatively superficial; offenders may be deterred from
repeating the crime if there is a strong societal response condemning the
behavior

o Each group member's participation may be limited to a specific aspect of
the crime, enabling each offender to avoid acknowledgment of or
accountability for the seriousness of the crime

Handout C2

Case Studies of Typical Offenders

Thrill-Seeking Offenders

Two alienated white youths looking for excitement went on a spree of
destruction and defacement that resulted in attacks on 23 properties in three
different communities. They defaced walls, driveways, and automobiles with
slurs against Jews, African Americans, Greeks, and even skinheads. After
their arrest, the men claimed that they hadn't intended to hurt anyone--that it
only happened because they were drunk.

Reactive Offenders

In Jersey City, New Jersey, an East Indian chemist was severely beaten with
an iron bar in his own apartment by a racist who resented the presence of
"Hindus" in his neighborhood.

In Wheaton, Maryland, two young white men unable to find work stopped
their car and chased two African American women, who were walking from
their apartment to a pay phone. One woman ran toward a house and was
rescued by the occupant, who heard one of the assailants warn, "If you knock
on that door again, I'll kill you." The other woman tried to escape into the
woods, where she fell. The attackers beat her head and face, ripped off her
blouse, and doused her with lighter fluid. As they attempted to light the fluid,
police cars arrived at the scene. Both men escaped but were later
apprehended. They were charged with attempted murder, assault with intent
to murder, assault with intent to maim, kidnaping, and (under a 1988 bias
crime statute) attempting to injure a person for racial reasons.

Mission Offenders

Marc Lepine entered the engineering school at the University of Montreal
with the intent of "getting even" with women, especially feminist women,
whom he perceived as having ruined his life. He walked into a classroom,
directed the men to leave, and ordered the women to move to one side of the
room, saying, "I want the women. You're all a bunch of feminists. I hate
feminists." He opened fire and killed 14 women between the classroom, the
hallways, and the cafeteria, and then took his own life.

Handout C3

Reactive Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Have a sense of entitlement regarding their rights, privileges, or way of life,
which does not extend to the victim

o Usually have no prior history of criminal behavior or overt bigotry; not
generally associated with an organized hate group, although may call on an
organized hate group to assist in mitigating the perceived threat

Precipitating Events
o Offenders perceive a threat to their way of life, community, place of work,
or privilege

Motivation
o To protect or defend against the perceived threat constituted by the
presence of "outsiders"

o To use fear and intimidation to send a message that will repel the "outsiders"

Victim(s)
o Particular individual or group of individuals who are perceived to constitute
the threat

o Most often, people of color

Location

o Typically, in offender's own neighborhood, school, or place of work

Additional Characteristics
o If the threat is perceived to subside, criminal behavior also subsides

o Offenders feel little if any guilt because they perceive their behavior as a
justifiable response to their feelings of violation at the mere presence of the
victim

Handout C4

Mission Offenders

Offender Characteristics
o Often psychotic, suffering from mental illness that may cause hallucinations,
impaired ability to reason, and withdrawal from other people

o Perceive victim groups as evil, subhuman, and/or animal

Precipitating Events:
o None

Motivation
o Believes they have been instructed by a higher order (God, the Fuhrer, the
Imperial Wizard, etc.) to rid the world of this evil

o Believe they must get even for the misfortunes they have suffered and
perceive a conspiracy of some kind being perpetrated by the targeted groups 

o Have a sense of urgency about the mission; believe they must act before it is
too late

Victim
o Any or all members of the category of people they perceive as responsible
for their frustrations

Location
o Areas where members of the targeted group are likely to be found

Additional Characteristics
o The rarest kind of bias crime

o Crimes are of a violent nature; the mission often ends in the offender's suicide

Transparency C2

Retaliatory Hate Crime

o Motivated by revenge for another incident or crime, especially incidents
perceived to be rooted in prejudice

o May involve large-group activity or rioting

o Demonstrate what can happen if hate crimes do not receive an appropriate
response from law enforcement, the justice system, and the community

Transparency C3

ORGANIZED HATE GROUPS

Group Characteristics

o Range from loosely structured local groups to highly structured international
groups

o Leaders tend to project a mainstream image 

o Technologically sophisticated

o Skinheads loosely affiliated with these groups, although usually are not
official members 

o Focus on issues of concern to middle America as a cover for their aims

o Believe in the inevitability of a global war between the races

o Examples include White Aryan Resistance, the Ku Klux Klan, and
neo-Nazis

History of Organized Hate Groups

o Not a new phenomenon; hate groups grow in response to:

--periods of increased immigration 

--attempts by disenfranchised groups to increase political and economic
power

--periods of economic instability

o Powerful forces in American political life 

o Tend to break up because of internal dissension; groups often take names
similar to other hate groups 

Structure of Contemporary Hate Groups

o Estimated at no fewer than 20,000 and possibly no more than 50,000
members of white supremacist groups in the United States

Hate Group Ideology

o Explicitly racist, considering people of color to be subhuman; homophobia
recently added to their agenda

o Often blame the government, communism, and/or ethnic and racial
"conspiracies" for most of this country's problems

o Some include apocalyptic Christianity in their ideology

Strategy

o Often use technological venues, such as cable TV, the World Wide Web,
and computer bulletin boards

o Some attempt to display a more mainstream political image and might run
for office, but the potential for violence is always present

o Congregate in large numbers in certain geographical areas (e.g., Pacific
Northwest)

Skinheads

o Groups are small, loosely organized gangs of mostly male adolescents and
young adults

o Most attacks are unplanned; however, skinheads have been implicated in
organized violence 

Handout C5

Offender Typology Video Observation Form

Title--Description--Typology--Indicators

Video #1

Video #2

Video #3

The table for the Offender Typology Video Observation Form is not included in
this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the
Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy
from Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center at 800-627-6872.

References

1 Levin, J. and McDevitt, J. (1993). Hate crime: The rising tide of bigotry and
bloodshed. New York: Plenum Publishers.

2 McDevitt, J. (1998). National Center for Hate Crime Prevention Advisory
Council Meeting.