March 2019

Guest Editors: Carmen Best, Christopher Fisher, Tracy Clayton, Tricia Collins, Kelsey Minyon, and IACP Human and Civil Rights Committee

Crimes motivated by bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or other protected element of identity have a devastating impact on the victims and groups targeted, as well as the larger community. Law enforcement’s response to hate crime plays a critical role in community trust and healing.

Articles

• Law and Policy Considerations in Response to Hate Crimes

  By Jennifer Knight, Commander, Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police
  The term “hate crime” has become a familiar component of everyday discourse. The public is routinely confronted with media coverage of incidents involving potential criminal actions that appear t...

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• The Importance and Structure of a Written Hate Crime Policy

  By William Johnson, Research Assistant, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, George Mason University
  The increase of reported hate crimes in FBI data, now for a third straight year, demonstrates clearly the continued importance of law enforcement agencies having a specific plan in place for respondi...

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• Hate Crime Prevention: York Regional Police Builds Trust with LGBTQ2S Community

  By Heidi Schellhorn, Superintendent, York Regional Police, Ontario
  “Why does the LGBTQ2S community need a Pride Parade?” This question has been asked by many people over the years, including members of the York Regional Police. Although the question has become mu...

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• The Play’s the Thing: A Police Chief and a Theatre Professor Join Forces to Confront Bias in Police Departments

  By David Kaye, Professor, University of New Hampshire, and David Kurz, Chief, Durham, New Hampshire, Police Department
  Police Chief David Kurz has given a great deal of thought to an incident he was made aware of earlier in his career. A police officer was on a construction detail when a car with four, young African ...

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