Hate Crime or Hate Incident?
A hate crime is a crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim's real or perceived protected social group. The law protects against many classes of hate crimes.
Examples of possible hate crimes include:
- The criminal chose the victim or property because they belonged to a protected group, based on Disability, Gender, Nationality, Race or ethnicity, Religion, Sexual orientation, Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
- The criminal made written or verbal comments showing a prejudice.
- The crime happened on a date that is important for the victim's protected group.
A hate incident is an action or behavior motivated by hate but legally protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
Examples of hate incidents include:
- Hate-Motivated Insults
- Distributing hate material in public places
- Displaying hate material on your own property
The U.S. Constitution allows hate speech as long as it does not interfere with the civil rights of others. If a hate incident starts to threaten a person or property, it may become a hate crime.
All acts of hate violence or threats will be viewed as serious and the investigations will be given priority attention. Such acts generate fear and concern in victims and the public; and have the potential for recurring, escalating, and possibly causing retaliation.
If you feel you are a victim of a Hate Crime, please call 9-1-1.
If you do NOT feel this is a emergency, please file a online report below.
For additional information and support, on how to stand up against hate please visit Not In Our Town Novato.