Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Lecture Notes
Chapter 15: Hate Crimes, Mass Murder, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Learning Objectives
15.2 Describe the various forms and rates of multicide in the United States.
15.4 Describe homeland security, such as its origins and organizational structure.
15.5 Discuss the pros and cons of policy solutions addressing gun violence in the United States.
Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
A. The chapter begins with a discussion on hate crimes; this section presents issues
pertaining to hate crimes, such as the definition and legislative responses to these
offenses.
B. The chapter continues focusing on terrorism, including the definition and the
types and extent of terrorism.
II. Hate Crimes
A. Definition of Hate Crimes
i. Congress defined hate crime as follows: “A criminal offense against a
person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias
against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.”
ii. The types of hate crimes are identified by bias motivations.
a. Common biases include those against race and religion.
B. Hate Groups
i. Hate groups themselves still run websites and forums with massive
audiences.
ii. Increase in access to the internet leads to an increase in racial hate crimes.
C. Anti-Hate-Crime Legislation
i. Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. On April 23, 1990, the president signed into law the Hate Crime
Statistics Act of 1990.
b. As part of the UCR program, the attorney general was required to
develop guidelines and collect data about crimes that manifest
ii. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
a. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
amended the Hate Crime Statistics Act to enhance penalties for
offenses that involved a motivation bias.
iii. The Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996
a. In 1996, Congress unanimously enacted the Church Arson
Prevention Act.
b. From January 1, 1995, to January 7, 1997, the Department of
iv. The Campus Hate Crimes Right to Know Act of 1997
a. The Campus Hate Crimes Right to Know Act of 1997 amends a
section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that provides “for the
disclosure of all criminal incidents that manifest evidence of
v. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of
2009
a. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act of 2009 is named after two victims of hate crimes.
b. Matthew Shepard attended the University of Wyoming. In 1998,
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
c. Also in 1998, James Byrd Jr., an African-American man, was tied
to a truck by white supremacists and then dragged and decapitated.
vi. Model State Legislation: Hate Crimes/Violence Against People
Experiencing Homelessness
a. The National Coalition for the Homeless reported that more
communities across the country are actively addressing this
problem.
b. The model state legislation designates the following acts as hate
crimes motivated by a person’s status as homeless:
a. Assault, aggravated assault, battery, or aggravated battery
D. Theoretical Explanations of Hate Crimes
i. Studying offenders who engaged in acts called “claping.”
a. Clape is a derogatory term used by some non-Amish to insult and
degrade Old Order Amish.
b. Claping is any act of persecution committed against the Amish.
III. Multicide
i. Serial killers, who kill single victims over time with a cooling period
between the killings.
ii. Mass murderers, who kill multiple victims at one place at one time.
iii. Spree killers who kill victims in different places without a cooling-off time,
typically driving/moving as fast as they can to the next place of violence.
B. Categories of Mass Killers
i. Disciple Mass Killer: The desire to kill is related to the relationship
between the killer and the leader of a group/cult, such as in the Charles
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
ii. Family Annihilator Killer: Intends to kill victims he or she knows well,
especially family members.
iv. Ideological Mass Killer: Wants to kill people who are against the person’s
values, morals, or religious persuasion.
v. Disgruntled Citizen Killer: Angry with certain aspects of society (e.g.,
financial issues) and wants to take it out on people the person deems
responsible.
vi. Psychotic Mass Killer: Psychotic (often with schizophrenia) and perceive
others as being out to get them.
vii. School Killers.
C. School Attacks
i. The vast majority were committed by only one student (not two or more)
D. Disparity in Rates of Multicide Across Race and Religious Ideology
i. African-American serial killers are actually overrepresented yet often not
acknowledged by mainstream media.
ii. There have been radical Islamic factions that do seek to forward their
ideology via terrorism, especially in recent years.
IV. Terrorism
i. Bin Laden’s demise is a defining moment in the American-led fight against
terrorism, a symbolic stroke affirming the relentlessness of the pursuit of
those who attacked New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001.
B. Definition of Terrorism
i. Bruce Hoffman identified terrorism as follows:
a. Inevitably political in aims and motives.
b. Violent or threatens violence.
C. Typologies of Terrorism
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
i. Identifying typologies of terrorism helps one focus on the varying forms of
violence as well as the social meanings of terrorism while avoiding the
controversial debates about the lack of a concise definition.
ii. Gus Martin developed a typology of terrorism; he identified eight terrorist
typologies
a. The New Terrorism: This kind of terroism is characterized by
threat of mass casualities, new organizational configurations,
transnational religious solidary, and moral justifications for
political violence.
D. Extent of Terrorism
i. A major resource to understanding the extent of terrorism is the Global
Terrorism Index (GTI).
ii. Afghanistan had more deaths from terrorism compared to any other
country.
E. Historical Context of Modern Terrorism
i. Terrorism is a type of political warfare; thus, like war, while it retains its
consistent nature, the causes, objectives, and motivations of terrorism
evolve.
ii. Like other religiously inspired terrorists, when engaging in terrorist
missions, the assassins perceived their deaths as sacrificial and believed
that such a death would guarantee entrance into paradise.
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
iii. The French Revolution
a. The term terrorism originated from the regime de la terreur (reign
of terror) that prevailed during the French Revolution.
iv. Late-19th-Century and Early-20th-Century Terrorism
a. Anarchism and radical socialism were leftist ideologies that
advocated for the rights of the working class and abhorred central
government control, as well as private property.
b. Nationalist and anticolonial groups were often involved in activity
involving guerrilla warfare.
v. Contemporary Terrorism
a. Gus Martin contends that the modern world is challenged by the
“New Terrorism,” which is characterized by the following:
1. Loose, cell-based networks with minimal lines of command
and control.
F. Current Context of Terrorism
i. It is essential that terrorists constantly move, develop more effective
tactics, and create new structures to avoid detection.
ii. Terrorist groups need to continually change for their prolonged existence.
iii. The organizational structure and financial resources are influenced by the
strategic philosophy of a given movement.
iv. Organizational Networks
a. The traditional terrorist organization comprised cells; groups of
cells formed columns. Members in the cells rarely knew one
another.
b. The pyramids represent the hierarchical nature of the groups, with
the passive and active supporters at the base and the active cadre
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
v. Financial Support
a. Limiting the terrorist organization’s financial resources can result
in the following: (1) It can directly or indirectly influence an
organization’s leadership, morale, and legitimacy (e.g., diminish
support from members and other terrorist organizations), and (2) it
can have strategic implications (e.g., a group may not have the
vi. The Influence of the Media
a. Various communication frames:
a. Include reporting frames that are short and blended with
facts.
b. Dominant frames from one authority’s viewpoint
c. Conflict frames consisting of two perspectives; contention
frames comprising various positions
d. Investigative frames that expose corrupt or illegal behavior.
e. Campaigning frames, which are the broadcaster’s opinion
G. Domestic Terrorism
i. Domestic terrorism: Unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence
by a group or individual based in the United States to intimidate or coerce
others to further political or social objectives.
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
H. Theoretical Explanations of Terrorism
i. Brian Forst identified three general barriers to understanding terrorism.
a. First, while terrorism cases are similar with respect to having a
political motive, there are numerous differences as well.
b. Second, in most instances, terrorists, unlike other criminals, engage
in unpredictable activities.
ii. Game theory: assesses various scenarios by applying simulation gaming
models, usually to understand why parties in competitive situations behave
as they do and to advise players of the best way to play the game.
iii. The military uses game theory for teaching, training, and operational
studies.
iv. Game theory “could prove equally useful for assessing alternative
V. Homeland Security
i. Homeland security: A unified national effort to prevent terrorist attacks
within the United States, lessen America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and
minimize the damage resulting from such attacks.
B. Origins of Homeland Security
i. On October 8, 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order
13228. The order established the Office of Homeland Security as well as
the Homeland Security Council.
ii. It laid the foundation for implementation of a new concept of homeland
security as it relates to counterterrorist policies.
C. Definition of Homeland Security
i. Homeland security is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks
within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and
minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.
ii. Four general goals: (1) Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks; (2) protect the
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
D. The Homeland Security Organizational Network
i. Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge was appointed the first director of the
Office of Homeland Security.
ii. Department of Homeland Security: A Cabinet department of the U.S.
federal government, established in 2003 in response to the September 11
E. Agencies Responsible for Homeland Security
i. Transportation Security Administration
a. The TSA issued three mandates: (1) take responsibility for security
for all types of transportation; (2) recruit, assess, hire, train, and
ii. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
a. USCIS is responsible for administration of immigration and
naturalization adjudication functions.
b. Some of these functions include granting U.S. citizenship,
iii. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
a. ICE was created by merging the law enforcement branch of the
INS, the intelligence and investigative sections of the former U.S.
iv. Secret Service
a. The U.S. Secret Service was created in 1865 to suppress
counterfeit currency.
b. The U.S. Secret Service is to safeguard the nation’s financial
v. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. This act established the statutory authority for most federal
response activities to prepare for, protect against, respond to,
vi. The Coast Guard
a. The U.S. Coast Guard’s primary responsibility was to enforce the
country’s maritime laws, interests, and environment.
b. It is the only military organization within the Department of
F. Bureaucratic Problems and Solutions
i. Policy discussions of homeland security issues are driven not by rigorous
analysis but by fear, perceptions of past mistakes, pork-barrel politics, and
insistence on an invulnerability that cannot possibly be achieved.
ii. A related problem in this rapid reorganization is mission distortion. Those
agencies involved in this reorganization not only acquired new
responsibilities but also were expected to continue with their agency’s
missions prior to the merge.
G. Issues Related to Civil Liberties
i. The Torture Debate
a. The issue that the practice of torture has historically been disdained
by the United States, both morally and as a questionable
interrogation technique.
ii. Human Rights
a. The United Nations has defined human rights as universal values
and legal guarantees that protect individuals against actions or
omissions, primarily by government agents, that infringe on their
fundamental freedoms, entitlements, and human dignity.
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
iii. The Constitution
a. It establishes the organizational framework of the government,
including the relationship between federal and state governments,
as well as U.S. citizens.
b. These fundamental rights include the presumption of innocence,
the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, the right of
access to the courts, and privacy rights.
iv. USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
a. The act focuses on four significant areas of concern for homeland
security: (1) the collection of communications information and
VI. Policy Implications
i. The topic of gun control inevitably is raised as a policy that needs to be
revisited in this country.