Bias Crime Investigation: Does a Label Make a Difference

Abstract

Much academic debate has surrounded the term ‘hate crime.’ Although some have argued that the term is merely an academic buzz word, research has shown that there are often increased effects for the victim and victim group community. These effects, it is argued, warrants an increased reaction from the police, in order to restore or create a non-biased situation as quickly and easily as possible for the victim. This exploratory research examines the way in which police officers in Wellington, New Zealand define, recognise, and handle bias motivated crimes. To date there has been no research conducted in New Zealand, and as such, the current study aims to begin an understanding regarding how police officers in New Zealand understand the term ‘hate crime’ and how they react to such crimes within policing. The thesis questions the way police officers define bias crimes, and offers a comparison with current academic definitions. The study also examines what features of a crime encourage an officer to recognise bias motivations. By discussing New Zealand Police Officers' knowledge of resources, and training for hate crimes, as well as the way the officers believe crimes of this type should be dealt with, the thesis assesses the amount of responsiveness the officers in Wellington have towards bias crimes. The data from interviews is compared with data from three case studies of potential bias crimes in Wellington. The research concludes that there are ways in which the New Zealand Police can improve officer understanding of bias crimes, however, there may be difficulties implementing effective training. Overall, the study examined a group of officers with very different ideals and levels of knowledge, and using qualitative exploratory techniques, has shed light on the ways in which police officers in Wellington regard many aspects of bias crimes.