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When does an assault become a racist attack?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Politics & Debate
This issue comes up a lot on another board I post on. At what point does an assault between people from different 'races' become a racist assault? What parameters are there that define whether an attack was racially motivated?

example (warning, it's got a video of the assault included):
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/60D37B6EC5FF4711862576320011605B?OpenDocument

The police spokesman stated that the attack appeared to be racially motivated, but later retracted his statements. Frankly I think he was on to something...

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Generally, I would say any hate crime becomes such when the other person's "group" is the motivating factor behind the attack. And since discovering motive is usually a key part of any trial, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm With Stupid wrote: »
    Generally, I would say any hate crime becomes such when the other person's "group" is the motivating factor behind the attack. And since discovering motive is usually a key part of any trial, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out.

    I agree. But I guess what I'm wondering is how you determine that the other persons 'race' is the motivating factor? I mean, does it take racial slurs? Or do they just have to be a minority in a given situation? Or is it something else?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would assume it would generally have to be an unprovoked attack on someone you don't know. So no personal reasons for doing it. The most recent one I can think of in Britain was a lad who was killed after a group attacked him and his girlfriend for wearing goth-style clothing.

    I don't think racial slurs are evidence of racial motivation, because let's face it, you'll say anything to someone you're having a fight with.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 states that an offence is racially aggravated if:

    (a) at the time of committing the offence the offender demonstrates towards the vicrim of the offence histility based on the victim's membership of a racial group;

    (b) the offence is racially motivated by hostility towards members of a racial group based on their membership of that group.

    Also if a person regards an attack as being racist then that is how it will be treated by the police. It is down to how the victim perceives it.
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