It goes without saying that the understanding of the psychological motives of people behavior can help to predict the actions of people and to influence their model of behavior. The knowledge of the people consciousness is crucial for prevention of crimes. The Criminology as a field of study is based upon the principles of the psychological analysis to the large extent.
“Hate crimes can be understood as criminal conduct motivated in whole or in part by a negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons” (“The Psychology of Hate Crimes”, par. 2).
The hate crime is a violent action which the person makes toward another member of society. It is the action that reveals the absence of the right moral fiber and disregard to the fundamental rights of everyone, including the undeniable right to live and to be secured.
The consciousness of people, violating these basic rights, is, obviously, far from the adherence to the human ethics. “Hate crime is not really about hate, but about bias or prejudice” (Jacobs and Potter n.p.). The results of various studies show that hate crimes are made usually by people lacking the feeling of tolerance to others.
“According to evolutionary psychology, all human behavior, criminal or otherwise, is a product of psychological mechanisms (instantiated in the brain) combined with environmental input that activates them or inhibits their activation” (Buss 91). That is why, in order to examine the level of human consciousness that leads to hate crimes and to find the answer on the question of why people commit them, it is crucial to seek the motives in the environment. Sometimes, the surrounding reality itself facilitates the criminal in the society. On the one hand, stating that the social tension is the primary reason for crimes would be misleading and inadequate conclusion, because, obviously, not all people from problem neighborhood become offenders. On the other hand, the statistical data give us an indication that the number of hate crimes and violent cases as a whole is greater in such communities than in the socially and economically successful districts. That is why, the direct relation of the criminal cases to the influence of the external environment can be observed. However, the ability to withstand the influence of negative environment is the quality which some people possess, thanks to their good breeding, education and the realization of social responsibility, and the others lack making them liable to the social degradation.
Turning back to the interpretation of the hate crimes essence, we can say that the feeling of respect and tolerance should be encouraged in the society in order to prevent them. It is suggested to organize the charity activities in schools and colleges which will attract students to help other members of society and develop their feeling of compassion.
In conclusion, the examination of the level of psychological factors is important for hate crimes prevention. The regulation and control over the number of hate crimes should be accomplished by realization of social programmes aimed at the development, improvement and advancing of education among all social layers as well as propagation of ethical norms and standards.
Works Cited
Buss, David M. “The Evolutionary Psychology of Crime “. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical criminology Commentary Special edition 1.1 (2012): 37-56. Print.
Jacobs, James B. & K. Potter 2008, Hate Crimes. Criminal Law & Identity Politics.
The Psychology of Hate Crimes. PDF file. Web.