Hate Crime Research

Abstract

The credibility revolution in the social sciences has placed new emphasis on research designs that provide strong evidence of cause and effect. The next generation of hate crime research must move in this design-based direction. This essay reviews recent examples of experiments and quasi-experiments in criminology, political science, and economics that provide useful design templates for hate crime researchers. At the same time, we caution that advances in design must also be accompanied by advances in measurement if researchers are to gauge the long-term effects of interventions designed to reduce the risk of hate crime.

Out-Group Threat and Xenophobic Hate Crimes: Evidence of Local Intergroup Conflict Dynamics between Immigrants and Natives

“…In addition, threatening events may act as a prime, heightening the salience and centrality of xenophobic attitudes; even if the attitudes themselves remain stable (Allen, Anderson, and Bushman 2018). As Peffley et al (2015) and Jungkunz, Helbling, and Schwemmer (2019) suggest, 2 There has been extensive sociological and criminological work on the kinds of people that engage in hate crimes against out-groups such as migrants or LGBTQ persons (for summaries see, e.g., Green, Mcfalls, and Smith 2001;Walters 2011;Dancygier and Green 2010;Green and Spry 2014). Perpetrators of hate crimes tend to hold biased perceptions of and grievances towards the targeted out-group (King and Sutton 2013), and many engage in hate crimes out of a desire to exact revenge and protect the in-group (Lickel et al 2006).…”

What and Where are the Risks of International Terrorist Attacks

“…Unfortunately, we do not have many empirical studies that identify the factors causing domestic and international terrorism, nor do we have sufficient statistical models describing the nature of the global terrorism risk (Green & Spry, 2014;Kastenmüller, Greitemeyer, Hindocha, Tattersall & Fischer, 2013;Smith & Fischbacher, 2009).…”

The legislative context of prejudice motivated victimisation: perceptions of police legitimacy and citizen decisions to report hate crime incidents

“…Lyons (2008) suggests that greater public sensitivity and the ability to distinguish between PMC and non-PMC may have an effect on the willingness of victims, as well as third party witnesses, to report such crime to police and, therefore, to involve criminal justice processes. Green and Spry (2014), for example, suggest the use of public messaging to inform the public of sanctions applicable to hate crime offenders, to stress the importance of reporting such crimes to the police, and to promote empathy and clear up negative More recent research has delved into the possibility of using restorative justice avenues (see Gavrielides, 2012;Walters, 2014b). Victim attitudes still need more exploring in regards to utilising restorative justice measures compared with more punitive measures.…”

“…According to Green and Spry (2014), research has been conducted in trying to evaluate the implementation of new legislation, as well as procedures (see, for example, Dube, Dube, & GarciaPonce, 2013 and their research on U.S. gun laws and violence in Mexico; Vásquez, Maddan, & Walker, 2008 and their study on the influence of sex offender registration and notification laws in the U.S.). These studies utilise interrupted time series analysis, which is a method that "focuses on the effects of a sudden shock that is hypothesised to generate a shift in outcomes" (Green & Spry, 2014, p. 235).…”

“…Prior research has investigated triggering events of hate crime incidents, as in such cases as the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks and the subsequent rise in hate crime incidents (Green & Spry, 2014). As well as analysing the 9/11 attacks, King and Sutton (2013) have also analysed hate crime incidents after the Rodney King and O.J.…”