DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37039.v1
title: Questioning Bias: Validating a Bias Crime Assessment Tool in California and New Jersey, 2016-2017
title: Version 1

description: These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.
This study investigates experiences surrounding hate and bias crimes and incidents and reasons and factors affecting reporting and under-reporting among youth and adults in LGBT, immigrant, Hispanic, Black, and Muslim communities in New Jersey and Los Angeles County, California.
The collection includes 1 SPSS data file (QB_FinalDataset-Revised.sav (n=1,326; 513 variables)). The collection also contains 24 qualitative data files of transcripts from focus groups and interviews with key informants, which are not included in this release.
description: Study objectives are to develop a comprehensive bias crime assessment tool for use by community organizations and law enforcement to identify and reach victims of bias crime.
description: Data collection for the study was conducted in two states: California (Los Angeles County) and New Jersey. The selection of these two locations as project sites was motivated by methodological and practical considerations. These sites have large, diverse, representative populations that meet our study criteria and significant numbers of police-reported hate crimes. Moreover, L.A. County and New Jersey have the same set of protected classes under bias crime law: race/ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Both have interpreted bias law in courts to allow bias crimes with mixed motives and crimes based on biased target selection in addition to those based on expressed hostility.
description: The data file (n=1,326; 513 variables) contains variables on respondents' personal experiences with crime and discrimination, details surrounding the most recent personal experience with hate or bias, details surrounding the most upsetting personal experience with hate or bias, perception of the offender(s), reaction to incident, whether or not incident was reported to police, police response, level of satisfaction with police response, bothersome feelings experienced in past month, feelings about potential future hate crime victimization, actions taken to feel safer, and views on police, laws, and rules. Demographic variables include age, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, living situation, whether respondent has children, marital status, whether born in the U.S. and whether parents born in the U.S., immigration status, level of education, and employment status.
description: Presence of Common Scales: 
					Several Likert-type scales were used.
description: Response Rates: 
					Not available
description: Datasets: 
					
						DS1: Dataset
description: face-to-face interview
description: on-site questionnaire
description: web-based survey
description: Adults living in California and New Jersey
				   		Smallest Geographic Unit: state
description: The data collection is a convenience sampling of community members and university students in New Jersey and California. The majority (75%) of the quantitative data sample consisted of participants from California, which was the stronger of the two sites in terms of organizational partnerships. Two-thirds of the sample were university students, as past research has shown that youth frequently experiences bias incidents including hate crimes. Further, many of the students who participated were enrolled in criminal justice classes, which implies that they have some awareness of crimes in general and hate crimes in particular, and were thus able to answer survey questions knowledgably.