The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) defines hate crime as a committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a:
- race
- religion
- disability
- sexual orientation
- ethnicity
- gender
- gender identity
For UCR Program purposes, even if the offenders are mistaken in their perception the victim was a member of a certain group, the offense is still a bias crime because the offender was motivated by bias.
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 22c, Section 32 defines Hate Crime as the following:
- Any criminal act coupled with overt actions motivated by bigotry and bias including, but not limited to, a threatened, attempted or completed overt act motivated at least in part by racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation prejudice, or which otherwise deprives another person of his constitutional rights by threats, intimidation or coercion, or which seek to interfere with or disrupt a person’s exercise of constitutional rights through harassment or intimidation. Hate crime shall also include, but not be limited to, acts that constitute violations of sections thirty-seven and thirty-nine of chapter two hundred and sixty-five, section one hundred and twenty-seven A of chapter two hundred and sixty-six and chapter two hundred and seventy-two.
The Lowell Police Department (LPD) is committed to serving all residents in the City and takes hate crime allegations very seriously. The standard method for reporting hate crimes in the City of Lowell is by either calling Lowell Police Communications at (978) 937-3200 or by visiting the police station. As always, in an emergency, residents are advised to call 911. Residents can also confidentially report a hate crime by sending an email to reporthatecrimes@lowellma.gov.
For more information regarding FBI Hate Crime Statistics click here.
For more information regarding Massachusetts Hate Crime Statistics click here.