Masters Thesis

Place, hate and Latinos: a study of anti-Latino hate crime in the United States

Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States often subject to nativistic and racist ideologies, increasing vulnerability to hate crime victimization. However, few studies have included Latinos in the study of hate crime. This study tests hypotheses derived from racial threat and routine activity theory to examine anti- Latino hate crimes. This study reviews hate crime data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program in 2006. Differences between anti-Latino hate crimes, other hate crimes and other racially motivated bias crimes are compared. Location in the West was uniquely predictive of number of anti-Latino hate crimes reported. When compared to other racially motivated hate crimes, hate crimes against blacks and whites, anti-Latino hate crimes were highly significant in the degree of aggravated assault. Place of attack was not associated with anti-Latino hate crime. This study shows anti-Latino hate crime differs in its predictors from racial hate crimes, particularly anti-Black hate crime. Keywords Latinos, Racial Hate Crime, Region, Place, Aggravated Assault, Robbery, Racial Threat Theory, Routine Activity Theory

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