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Parasitic Offence

Definition

A hate crime's legal structure: a bias element layered onto an existing base offence, such as assault or criminal damage, rather than a stand-alone crime of hate.

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...
Bias Motivation
The offender's prejudice against a victim's actual or perceived group membership that drives the selection of that victim or target, proven as...
Mission Offender
In the Levin and McDevitt typology, the rarest and most dangerous offender type, who treats bigotry as a life purpose and plans...
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...

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