Racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, handicap, or
sexual orientation group of victim differs from that of the
offender.
Victim is a member of a group which is overwhelmingly
outnumbered by members of another group in the area where the
incident occurred.
Victim was engaged in activities promoting his/her group.
Incident coincided with a holiday or date of particular
significance to the victim or the victim's group.
Victim, although not a member of the targeted group, is a
member of an advocacy group that supports the victim group, or
the victim was in the company of a member of the targeted
group.
Historically, animosity exists between the victim's group
and the suspect's group.
Comments, Written Statements, Gestures.
Bias-related comments, written statements, or gestures
were made by the offender.
Drawings, Markings, Symbols, and Graffiti.
Bias-related drawings, markings, symbols, or graffiti were
left at the scene of the incident.
Representation of Organized Hate Groups.
Objects or items that represent the work of organized hate
groups were left (e.g., white hoods, burning crosses), or an
organized hate group claimed responsibility for the
incident.
Previous Existence of Bias Crime/Incidents.
Victim was visiting a location where previous bias crimes
had been committed against members of the victim's group.
Several incidents occurred in the same area, and the
victims were members of the same group.
Victim has received previous harassing mail or phone calls
or has been the victim of verbal abuse based on his/her
affiliation with a targeted group.
Victim/Witness Perception
Victims or witnesses perceive that the incident was
motivated by bias.
Suspect was previously involved in a similar incident or
is a member of, or associates with members of, an organized
hate group.
Lack of Other Motives
No clear economic or other motive for the incident exists.
INDICATOR CAUTIONS
Need for Case-by-Case Assessment of the Facts: Bias
crime indicators are not all-inclusive of the types of objective
facts which evidence biased motivation.
Misleading Facts: Agencies must be alert to misleading
facts. For example, the offender used an epithet to refer to the
victim's race, but the offender and the victim were of the same
race.
Feigned Facts and Hoaxes: Agencies must be alert to
evidence left by the offenders which is meant to give the false
impression that the incident was motivated by bias.
Offender's Mistaken Perception: Even if the offender
was mistaken in his/her belief that the victim was a member of a
racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, or sexual orientation
group, the offense is still a hate crime as long as the offender
was motivated by bias against that group.
Changes in Findings of Bias: If, after an initial
incident report was submitted, a contrary finding regarding bias
occurs, the national file must be updated with the new finding.
