What Prosecutors and the Police Should Do About Underreporting of Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crime

Introduction Vast discrepancies between official hate crime statistics and victim reports of hate crimes reveal that a large proportion of hate crimes go uncharged. LGBTQ individuals may be disinclined to report hate crimes because of safety concerns and perceived hostility from law enforcement, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexuality research & social policy 2022-09, Vol.19 (3), p.1190-1204
Main Authors: Palmer, Neal A., Kutateladze, Besiki Luka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Community
Coordination
Criminal statistics
Discomfort
Discrepancies
Hate crimes
Hostility
Interviews
Law enforcement
LGBTQ community
LGBTQ people
Police
Psychology
Public prosecutors
Retaliation
Sexual Behavior
Social Sciences
Underreporting
Victims
Victims of crime
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Summary:Introduction Vast discrepancies between official hate crime statistics and victim reports of hate crimes reveal that a large proportion of hate crimes go uncharged. LGBTQ individuals may be disinclined to report hate crimes because of safety concerns and perceived hostility from law enforcement, and law enforcement may be reluctant to pursue them because of discomfort interacting with LGBTQ people and lack of clear guidance in building hate crime cases. Methods and Analytical Approach To address the problem of anti-LGBTQ hate crime underreporting, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the Miami-Dade area including (a) prosecutorial case files from 2005 to 2019 and (b) semi-structured interviews with law enforcement practitioners ( n  = 10) and (c) structured interviews with LGBTQ crime victims ( n  = 400), carried out in 2018–2019. Findings and Recommendations for Policy and Practice Triangulated findings reveal that police and prosecutors lack the capacity to detect hate crimes and to engage with the LGBTQ community and crime victims. Victims and community members worried about retaliation and discounted some victim experiences as hate crimes. Responding to the research findings, a working group of 23 local stakeholders representing Miami’s LGBTQ community, advocacy groups, police, and prosecutor’s office produced seven recommendations addressing: (1) hate crime detection, (2) interagency coordination, (3) victim engagement, (4) communication and awareness building, (5) training of law enforcement practitioners, (6) data and research, and (7) changes to the hate crime statute. Conclusion These recommendations offer a path forward for a more effective detection and prosecution of hate crimes.
ISSN:1868-9884
1553-6610
DOI:10.1007/s13178-021-00596-5