Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
4 01/24/2011 03/01/2019 03/01/2021
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
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338 - Hate Crimes 1 POLICY 338 HATE CRIMES
338.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This department recognizes and places a high priority on the rights of all individuals guaranteed
under the Constitution and the laws of this state. When such rights are infringed upon by
violence, threats , or other harassment, this department will utilize all available resources to see
that justice is served under the law. This policy has been developed to meet or exceed the
provisions of Penal Code § 13519.6(c) and provides members of this department with guidelines
for identifying and investigating incidents and crimes that may be motivated by hatred or other
bias.
338.1.1 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This policy pertains to the following CALEA Standards: N/A
This policy pertains to the fol lowing Standard Operating Procedures: N/A
338.2 DEFINITIONS
Hate crimes – Penal Code § 422.55(a) defines a hate crime as a criminal act committed in whole
or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics o f the
victim:
a) Disability ;
b) Gende r;
c) Nationality ;
d) Race or ethnicity ;
e) Religion ;
f) Sexual orientation ;
g) Association with a person or group with one or more of thes e actual or perceived
characteristics .
h) Examples of hate c rimes include, but are not limited to:
1) Interfering with, oppressing or threatening any other person in the free exercise or
enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the constitution or laws because of one
or more of the actual or perceived character istics of t he victim (Penal Code § 422.6);
2) Defacing a person’s property because of one or more of the actual or perceived
characteristics of the victim ( Penal Code § 422.6(b));
3) Terrorizing a person with a swastika or burning cross ( Penal Code § 11411) ;
4) Vandalizing a place of worship ( Penal Code § 594.3).
The federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expands federal
hate crimes to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation,
gender iden tity or disability ( 18 USC § 249 ).
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
4 01/24/2011 03/01/2019 03/01/2021
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
_____ __________
338 - Hate Crimes 2 Victim - Includes, but is not limited to, a community center, educational facility, entity, family,
group, individual, office, meeting hall, person, place of worship, private institution, public agency,
library or other vi ctim or intended victim of the offense ( Penal Code § 422.56)
338.3 PREVENTING AND PREPARING FOR LIKELY HATE CRIMES
While it is recognized that not all crime s can be prevented, this department is committed to taking
a proactive approach to preventing and preparing for likely hate crimes by , among other things:
a) Officers should make an affirmative effort to establish contact with person s and groups
within the community who are likely targets of hate crimes to form and cooperate with
prevention and response networks.
b) Accessing outside agency a ssistance when necessary.
c) Providing victim assistance and follow -up as outlined below, including community follow -
up.
338.4 PROCEDURE FOR INVESTIGATING HATE CRIMES
Whenever any member of this department receives a re port of a suspected hate crime or other
activity that reasonably appears to involve a potential hate crime, the following should occur:
a) Officer(s) will be promptly assigned to contact the victim, witness , or reporting party to
investigate the matter furth er as circumstances may dictate.
b) A supervisor should be notified of the circumstances as soon as practical.
c) Once “in progress ” aspects of any such situation have been stabilized (e.g., treatment of
victims, apprehension of present suspects, etc.), the assi gned officer(s) will take all
reasonable steps to preserve available evidence that may tend to establish that a hate
crime was involved.
d) The assig ned officer(s) will interview available witnesses, victims , and others to determine
what circu mstance s, if any , indicate that the situation may involve a hate crime. No victim
of or witness to a hate crime , who is not otherwis e charged with or convicted of a crime
under stat e law, may be detained for or tu rned ove r to federal authorit ies exclusively for
any actual or suspected immigration violation (Penal Code § 422.93(b)).
e) Depending o n the situation, the assigned officer(s) or supervisor may request additional
assistance f rom detectives or other resources fo r further investigation.
f) The assigned officer(s) will inc lude all available evidence indicating the li kelihood of a hate
crime in the relevant report(s). All related reports will be clearly marked as “Hate Crimes”
and, absent pr ior approval of a supervisor, will be completed and submitted by the
assigned officer (s) before the end of the shift.
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