Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 51
neighborhood. Local law enforcement initially treated this incident as a prank because
hanging the noose was the only reported hate activity by the group. However, a
neighborhood canvass determined that Peer Pride members periodically sat in front of a
local fast food restaurant and shouted racial slurs at the African-American patrons. Instead
of leniency for the first-time offenders, the Los Angeles County District Attorney‘s Hate
Crimes Unit recommended harsh sanctions, including jail sentences. The effect was
immediate. The group disbanded and no other similar problems occurred in the
neighborhood. The incident, in and of itself, could have been interpreted as a prank, but, in
reality, the group was passing from Stage 3 to Stage 4 in the hate model.
In contrast, the Lancaster NLR group was a mature, hate- motivated skinhead group. Four
NLR members beat an African-American transient to death to earn the right to wear
lightning-bolt tattoos. According to the group‘s ritual, members only can earn lightning- bolt
tattoos by killing minorities. A review of police reports related to NLR criminal activities
clearly showed the NLR group progressing through the seven stages of the hate model.
School administrators and teachers can use the hate model to informally assess hate group
activities on campus. Identifying the stage in which a hate group is operating provides
valuable information to determine how dangerous the group is and what type of
intervention strategies to employ. Early intervention increases the probability of success,
especially before the transition period from rhetoric (Stage 4) to violence (Stage 5). These
strategies can range from informal sensitivity instruction to more formal programs, such as
the Juvenile Offenders Learning Tolerance (JOLT) program administrated by the Los Angeles
County District Attorney‘s Office Hate Crimes Unit. JOLT is a model intervention program
intended for first-- time, low-level offenders who face potential criminal prosecution and
school disciplinary action.
Conclusion
To develop and implement successful intervention strategies to deal with hate groups, law
enforcement personnel first must understand the hate process. The hate model identifies
the multiple stages of the hate process. Investigators can use this model to identify haters
who have not yet transitioned from hate rhetoric to hate violence and target them with
intervention programs, which have a higher probability of success. Likewise, law
enforcement personnel can identify and target hard-core haters with appropriate interdiction
strategies. Knowing how the hate process works helps interviewers penetrate the hate mask
and address the hater‘s underlying personal insecurities. If investigators can attenuate
these personal insecurities, haters will become more receptive to rehabilitation. Identifying
and understanding the stages of the hate process constitute the first steps in controlling
hate violence.
Endnotes
1 The authors based this article on their observations and interviews of several hundred self-
described skinheads, defined as "usually white males belonging to any of various, sometimes violent,
youth gangs whose members have close- shaven hair and often espouse whitesupremacist beliefs,"
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (1996), s.v. "skinhead."
2 See Eric Hoffer, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (New York, NY:
Harper and Row, 1989).
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Statistics, however, reveal that most hate crimes are not committed by hate groups. See U.S.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Hate Crime
Statistics 2000 (Washington, DC, 2001). For more information on collecting hate crime, see U.S.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Training
Guide for Hate Crime Data Collection (Washington, DC, 1997).
neighborhood. Local law enforcement initially treated this incident as a prank because
hanging the noose was the only reported hate activity by the group. However, a
neighborhood canvass determined that Peer Pride members periodically sat in front of a
local fast food restaurant and shouted racial slurs at the African-American patrons. Instead
of leniency for the first-time offenders, the Los Angeles County District Attorney‘s Hate
Crimes Unit recommended harsh sanctions, including jail sentences. The effect was
immediate. The group disbanded and no other similar problems occurred in the
neighborhood. The incident, in and of itself, could have been interpreted as a prank, but, in
reality, the group was passing from Stage 3 to Stage 4 in the hate model.
In contrast, the Lancaster NLR group was a mature, hate- motivated skinhead group. Four
NLR members beat an African-American transient to death to earn the right to wear
lightning-bolt tattoos. According to the group‘s ritual, members only can earn lightning- bolt
tattoos by killing minorities. A review of police reports related to NLR criminal activities
clearly showed the NLR group progressing through the seven stages of the hate model.
School administrators and teachers can use the hate model to informally assess hate group
activities on campus. Identifying the stage in which a hate group is operating provides
valuable information to determine how dangerous the group is and what type of
intervention strategies to employ. Early intervention increases the probability of success,
especially before the transition period from rhetoric (Stage 4) to violence (Stage 5). These
strategies can range from informal sensitivity instruction to more formal programs, such as
the Juvenile Offenders Learning Tolerance (JOLT) program administrated by the Los Angeles
County District Attorney‘s Office Hate Crimes Unit. JOLT is a model intervention program
intended for first-- time, low-level offenders who face potential criminal prosecution and
school disciplinary action.
Conclusion
To develop and implement successful intervention strategies to deal with hate groups, law
enforcement personnel first must understand the hate process. The hate model identifies
the multiple stages of the hate process. Investigators can use this model to identify haters
who have not yet transitioned from hate rhetoric to hate violence and target them with
intervention programs, which have a higher probability of success. Likewise, law
enforcement personnel can identify and target hard-core haters with appropriate interdiction
strategies. Knowing how the hate process works helps interviewers penetrate the hate mask
and address the hater‘s underlying personal insecurities. If investigators can attenuate
these personal insecurities, haters will become more receptive to rehabilitation. Identifying
and understanding the stages of the hate process constitute the first steps in controlling
hate violence.
Endnotes
1 The authors based this article on their observations and interviews of several hundred self-
described skinheads, defined as "usually white males belonging to any of various, sometimes violent,
youth gangs whose members have close- shaven hair and often espouse whitesupremacist beliefs,"
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (1996), s.v. "skinhead."
2 See Eric Hoffer, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (New York, NY:
Harper and Row, 1989).
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Statistics, however, reveal that most hate crimes are not committed by hate groups. See U.S.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Hate Crime
Statistics 2000 (Washington, DC, 2001). For more information on collecting hate crime, see U.S.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Training
Guide for Hate Crime Data Collection (Washington, DC, 1997).
