Hate Crimes

A Hate Motivated Crime is defined as:

"...Any act of intimidation, harassment, physical force, or threat of physical force directed against any person or family, or their property, or advocate, motivated either in whole or in part by hostility to their real or perceived races, ethnic backgrounds, national origins, religious beliefs, sexes, ages, disabilities, sexual orientations, or political beliefs with the intention of causing fear or intimidation, or to deter the free exercise or enjoyment of any rights or privileges secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States or the State of California whether or not performed under color of authority.”

Specific guidelines for hate crime determination are as follows:

• The hate crime must involve a specific target, such as a person, an individual residence, house of worship, religious or ethnic organization, or business.
• Graffiti must be racial, ethnic, religious or homophobic in nature, such as swastika, KKK, Nazi, or other Hate Group symbols or slogans, or involve the use of epithets.
• Bigotry must be the central motive for the attack, rather than economics, revenge, etc., as in other kinds of crime.
• Any assault against a person, in the absence of other apparent motivation, when initiated with racial, ethnic, religious, or homophobic epithets, will be considered to be a hate crime.
• Vandalism to a house of worship, or ethnic, religious, or Gay or Lesbian organization will be considered a hate crime in the absence of evidence of other motives.
• Obscene or threatening phone calls, when containing racial, ethnic, religious, or homophobic slurs, are considered hate crimes when it is determined that hate is the primary motivation for the call.

If You Become a Victim:
If you become a victim of a hate crime it is important that you report it immediately to your local police department or, if on Marysville campus (530) 741-6771 or 870-1158 after 4:30 p.m. or Woodland campus (530) 681-8782. When reporting the incident, be sure to indicate that the crime is hate-motivated, as well as provide the case officer with the specific information that will support the classification.

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