Hate crime is described as a crime that is motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudices. In most situation, hate crime involves violence or vandalism of the targets property. According to the FBI, all people who witness a hate crime or suspect another person of hate crime should contact their local FBI office to report the suspicion. They should also take the time to submit all information regarding the crime electronically and should file a report with any other federal agencies that they can. They should contact the local sheriff and the police departments in order to discuss the issue. According to the FBI statistics, in 2006 58.9 percent of all hate crime offenders were white and about 20 percent of all offenders were black. Most of the time people were targeted because of their race.

Now, more and more men and women are targeting innocents for hate crimes because of their sexuality. According to Mercury News, a 23-year-old Southern Californian was recently charged with a felony hate crime after he spray painted anti-gay graffiti on buildings at UC Berkeley over the weekend. The offender was caught in the act and booked on a hate crime charge. While he tried to run from the police upon discovery, he was not successful in evading them for long. According to records, suspect Anthony Garcia is not enrolled in UC Berkeley but lives nearby. This offense doubles as a hate crime and a vandalism offense.

According to the Jackson Free Press, hate crimes against homosexuals are on the rise. The FBI’s December report says that while the number of overall bias-motivated incidents has decreased, the number of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation has increased. There were about 1,300 hate crimes of this nature in the year 2012 which is about 3 percent increase from the year before The National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs says that the number of anti-LGBT murders in 2011 rose by 11 percent from 2010 and only continues to move further in to an epidemic. Studies show that the amount of hate crimes perpetrated by race, religion, and ethnicity has dropped significantly. The new focus is on those with different sexual orientations and preferences.

Shockingly, hate crime for sexual orientation is now the second most common biased crime in America. As well, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education network’s 2011 National School Climate Survey shows that about a thirds of all LGBT school children faced physical harassment last year in the classroom. About 20 percent of all of the students that are lesbian or gay received some sort of assault last year. This can be physical, verbal, sexual, or psychology cal. Many programs are currently trying to combat violence against the LGBT community and help the parents of LGBT children. Because LGBT marriage is a hot topic in politics at present, passionate men and women on either side of the argument are coming out to show their opinions.

This has resulted in crimes like the vandalism that Anthony Garcia committed earlier this week in California. If you have been arrested for a hate crime, you could be sent to jail doe decades depending on the nature of your crime. Some hate crimes are categorized as felonies, while others may be charged as lesser misdemeanors. Typically, this depends on whether or not your crime involves physical assault or not. If you need more information about hate crime or need a criminal defense attorney to come alongside you as you plea not guilty in court, then or can explore this directory to find someone that you can rely on.