Bias Motivation
Definition
The offender's prejudice against a victim's actual or perceived group membership that drives the selection of that victim or target, proven as a fact separate from the underlying criminal act.
Related terms
- Aggravated Offence Statute
- A law, used in England and Wales, that creates a separate, more heavily punishable offence when racial or religious hostility is demonstrated...
- Mission Offender
- In the Levin and McDevitt typology, the rarest and most dangerous offender type, who treats bigotry as a life purpose and plans...
- Parasitic Offence
- A hate crime's legal structure: a bias element layered onto an existing base offence, such as assault or criminal damage, rather than...
- Penalty-Enhancement Statute
- A law, typical of most United States jurisdictions, that keeps the base offence unchanged but increases the available sentence once bias motivation...
- Thrill Offender
- In the Levin and McDevitt typology, an offender who attacks for excitement or peer status, usually in a group, with little planning...