2002/01/01 by Jack McDevitt, Jack Levin, Susan Bennett · 1 voice · 4 citations
Computer Science · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
paper · doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00262
openalex publication_date 2002/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Little research has been conducted to determine the motivations of hate crime offenders. This article builds on an earlier work of J. Levin and McDevitt (1993) in which a typology of offender motivations was first articulated. We reanalyze 169 Boston police case files that were originally studied in order to provide empirical grounding for the typology. In this updated study, characteristics of the three original motives—thrill, defensive, and mission—are examined in relation to a new category: retaliatory motivation. In addition, the article addresses the issue of levels of culpability in explaining the most appropriate sanctions for certain kinds of hate offenders.