MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on the uptick in reported bias crime against members of the gay community. Roberts interviews Patti Abbott, a crime/victim advocate for the Minnesota Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council (GLCAC), who details multiple reasons behind the dramatic percentage increase in reported incidents.
CHRIS ROBERTS: If the figures are any indication, 1991 was a very difficult, dangerous year for Minnesota gays and lesbians. Altogether, 338 complaints were reported to the council last year, a 202% increase over 1990. Bias crimes in virtually every category soared. Physical assaults rose 132%. Hate mail incidents increased 220%.
Reports of abuse by police were up 120%. And vandalism jumped by a whopping 1,100%. There were four murders of gay people in Minnesota in 1991, half the number recorded nationwide by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. There were no gay-related murders in 1990 in the state. The group's crime victims advocate, Patti Abbott, credits a more sophisticated, thorough reporting system for the increase.
PATTI ABBOTT: I also do believe, however, that we are seeing an increase in actual violence. I think that there has been an increase in violence against all minority communities. And all minority communities are reporting that this year. But I think that the majority of our numbers are coming from a much better sense in our community that reporting is important. And that's why we're seeing the numbers go up so high.
CHRIS ROBERTS: The figures were released in conjunction with gay advocacy groups in four other cities. And the seven-county metro area, where the majority of the complaints originated, doesn't fare too well by comparison.
For the second year in a row, Minneapolis-Saint Paul beat out cities like San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Chicago in terms of the percentage increase in bias crimes reported. Patti Abbott says the numbers collected by the council are much higher than police department statistics.
PATTI ABBOTT: There are two things, I believe, that are the main difference. One is that the community is not reporting to the police as frequently as perhaps would be advisable and that we would like to see.
The other one is that the police department-- I believe that most police departments in the state need a considerable amount of training in how to identify bias crimes. And that's one of the things that we are really pushing for, especially in Minneapolis. That's one of the things that I'm working very diligently on with Chief Loucks. I don't think they're identifying the crimes correctly.
CHRIS ROBERTS: Abbott says the council uses justice department guidelines to identify bias crimes. According to Minneapolis Police Lieutenant Robert Scamurra with the Special Investigations Unit, there were 22 bias crimes in 1991 against gays and lesbians in the city.
Scamurra says police use criteria set up by the state to determine whether a bias crime has been committed. And he says it's important to remember that the incident not only has to be bias-motivated but also violate a state statute or local ordinance.
Scamurra says gay and lesbian advocates aren't as selective as police are. Advocates acknowledge that not all reported crimes become criminal complaints. But they say studies indicate more than 80% of bias crimes go unreported. Period. They say what they hear about is just the tip of the iceberg.
Advocates say the figures will help them garner support throughout Minnesota in the push to extend the state civil rights statutes to include sexual orientation. They plan to introduce an amendment in the 1993 legislative session. This is Chris Roberts.
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