Check out this new article by Mills and colleagues, which sheds light on how local political and historical contexts shape law enforcement agencies’ approaches to hate crime reporting. The authors tackle an important question: how do political dynamics, particularly Republican vote share, and historical legacies, such as lynching, influence whether agencies report hate crimes accurately, engage in “ceremonious compliance” (symbolic reporting without action), or avoid reporting altogether?
The research introduces a third type of response to hate crime statistics reporting: “ceremonious compliance.” This refers to agencies that submit reports but consistently report zero hate crimes, indicating neglect rather than actual compliance. The study focuses on the voluntary nature of hate crime reporting by local law enforcement in the US, which can produce misleading national statistics. By considering not only compliance versus noncompliance but also this third category of ceremonial compliance, the study explores how political and historical factors affect these choices.
Mills et al. use data from over 20,000 law enforcement agencies over an eight-year period. The analysis centres on the impact of local political contexts—specifically, Republican vote share—and historical factors, such as the legacy of lynching in the Confederate South. They employed a statistical technique known as Average Marginal Effects (AME) to explore how these factors predict compliance behaviours across different regions. The team also ran second-difference tests to determine significant regional variations in compliance strategies.
The study finds that political context plays a significant role in shaping hate crime reporting. In areas with higher Republican vote shares, agencies are less likely to engage in true compliance (accurately reporting hate crimes) and more likely to either not report at all or engage in ceremonious compliance. This reflects a broader conservative agenda, which may deprioritise hate crimes as a social issue.
Regionally, the Confederate South exhibits the most noncompliance and ceremonious compliance, likely reflecting a legacy of racial oppression and systemic bias. Interestingly, historical lynching is strongly associated with a higher likelihood of noncompliance, suggesting that past racial violence still influences how institutions respond to hate crimes today.
Smaller law enforcement agencies, often lacking in resources, are more prone to ceremonious compliance, reporting zero hate crimes regardless of the actual situation. This finding highlights the role of resource constraints in hate crime reporting.
The authors suggest several policy reforms to improve hate crime reporting. Firstly, they advocate for more robust federal guidelines and incentives to promote true compliance among law enforcement agencies. Training and certification programmes are recommended, particularly in under-resourced regions like the American South, where historical legacies of racial violence continue to shape institutional responses.
The authors recommend that the FBI implement auditing programmes to evaluate agencies that repeatedly report zero hate crimes. By identifying jurisdictions where hate crimes are likely underreported, law enforcement could receive targeted sensitivity training, ensuring that marginalised communities receive the protection they deserve.
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