Hate crimes as a special form of criminal behavior

Abstract

Hate is a specific motive for the commission of criminal offenses. In addition to the crimes committed due to the perpetrator's hatred towards the individual victim (based on the prior relationship which triggers the negative emotion of hate), the history of crimes points to numerous examples of oppression, assault, threat or destruction directed towards the victims because of their actual or presumed affiliation with a particular race, national or ethnic origin, religion or other characteristic of a group (collectivity). Some common features of hate crime as a particular form of criminal behavior are the perpetrator's presumption about the victim's belonging to a particular group; hate, aggression, brutality and violence towards this collectivity; attacks on life, physical and mental integrity and property of the victims, and creating a sense of insecurity. The term "hate crimes" appeared in the mid-1980s in the United States, which initiated empirical research on this phenomenon in an attempt to find effective criminal justice mechanisms. This paper provides a critical analysis of the problem of conceptual definition of hate crimes, the phenomenological aspect of this type of crime, the typology of perpetrators, victims, victimized groups, and presents criminal justice mechanisms aimed at counteracting hate crimes in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia.

Keywords

• hate crimes
• victims of hate crime
• aggravating circumstances