Hate takes no holiday

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were 7,163 hate crimes committed in the United States in 2005, the majority involving racial bias.

But the FBI's new statistical report on hate crimes, released Monday, also showed that about 17 percent of these crimes were triggered by religious bias. Another 14 percent were motivated by sexual orientation bias while 13 percent were tied to ethnic bias. Slightly less than 1 percent involved bias against a mental or physical disability. Most of these crimes were targeted against individuals, with a majority of the hate crime incidents occurring in or near the victims' residences.

In Utah, 107 incidents were reported by 28 law enforcement agencies, the FBI reported.

These nationwide statistics, although somewhat improved from a year ago, tell us that bias crimes continue to be a significant problem in the United States. There were 5,190 hate crimes offenses against people in 2005, the majority of them classified as "intimidations." But the numbers also include six homicides and three forcible rapes. More than 20 percent of the crimes against people were aggravated assaults.

These numbers fortify the Utah Legislature's decision to alter Utah's sentencing laws so that bias can be considered an aggravating factor at sentencing. This wasn't the strongest message lawmakers could send about hate crimes, but it was, many believe, the most politically feasible.

Bias crimes are obviously a criminal justice issue. But they speak to the larger issue of what parents teach their children about people of other ethnicities, beliefs, sexual orientations, races and even physical and mental abilities. It speaks to how society and institutions handle matters of discrimination and bias. The numbers suggests that Americans have a long way to go to overcome the kinds of bias that motivate crimes against individuals, property and institutions.

Most people consider hate crimes against people to be reprehensible. But there is an undeniable psychological impact from certain property crimes such as the bombing of or vandalizing places of worship. These are supposed to be places of sanctuary and peace. Yet, some 4.3 percent of these crimes occur in churches, synagogues or temples.

Our criminal justice system requires the tools to say we will not tolerate people being targets of crimes because they are part of certain groups. Federal law appears to have sufficient latitude to enforce these values. The recent change in Utah's law was certainly a step in the right direction.