Skip to content

Centre

Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice

Unit(s) of assessment: Social Work and Social Policy

School: School of Social Sciences

Overview

About the Centre

The Nottingham Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice was founded in 2003 by Dr Mike Sutton, and has since established itself as a key authority on hate crimes through the contributions and research made by its members since its inception.

Between 2003 and 2005, the Centre ran three annual international hate crime conferences and built strong networks among academics and practitioners, establishing itself while providing impetus in the field. Since 2005, members of the Centre have been invited to and presented papers at key symposiums and events such as the Hate Crime Symposium in Cardiff (2012), Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance Conference (2009), the International Conference, Law and Society in the 21st Century in Berlin, Germany (2007), and the European Society of Criminology Conference in Krakow, Poland (2005). Meanwhile the director of the Centre, Dr Mike Sutton was the key-note speaker at the Second International Conference on Hate Crimes in Boston (2005) where he discussed 'Preventing Hate Crimes'.

Academic team

The centre has a core of research-active staff including Dr Mike Sutton, Dr Paul Hamilton, Dr Loretta Trickett, and Roger Hopkins Burke. In addition to this, the highly esteemed Dr Barbara Perry (Professor and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada), is a visiting professor and frequent collaborator for the Centre.

In 2011, Dr Paul Hamilton joined the Hate Crime Academic Seminar group, which sought to bring together academics and practitioners from across the UK, to discuss the current evidence base for Hate Crime with the UK, identify new areas of study and existing or potential gaps in our collective knowledge and represented the Centre's commitment to developing knowledge in the field.

This seminar group has since been replaced by the International Network for Hate Studies which will be hosting its first meeting in Birmingham on 2 May 2013, with Dr Trickett being invited to be a Committee Member and Dr Paul Hamilton currently awaiting consideration for membership.

Dr Paul Hamilton and Dr Loretta Trickett also sit on two Nottinghamshire steering groups – the Hate Crime Steering Group and the Hate Crime Steering Group which has responsibility for coordinating hate crime strategy and research at city and county level. Members include representatives from the Police, Council, PCT, Strategic Analytical Unit (SAU), CPS, Magistrates & Stop Hate UK.

Developing knowledge across the sector

The Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crime Bias and Prejudice also has strong ties to the Internet Journal of Criminology, which has published several papers of members, developed out of the three Nottingham Trent University held International Hate Crime Conferences (2003-2005).

These papers covered topics including:

  • Anti-Semitism and the Christian Right in post-Miloševic Serbia by Jovan Byford
  • Interactive Race and Gender Differences: Models of Bias by Dr Dyan McGuire, St Louis University, USA
  • Where Do We Go From Here? Researching Hate Crime by Barbara Perry, Northern Arizona University
  • Bulldog Whistling: Criminalization of Young Lebanese-Australian Rugby League Fans
  • The German Hate Crime Concept: An Account of the Classification and Registration of Bias-Motivated Offences and the implementation of the Hate Crime Model into Germany's Law Enforcement System
  • Researching White Supremacists Online: Methodological Concerns of Researching Hate 'Speech'

For extracts and to download the full papers please visit the Internet Journal of Criminology.

A full list of publications and papers by the members of the Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice can be found on the publications tab.

Get in contact

For more information on the Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice, please contact Dr Mike Sutton.

Collaboration

Below is a list of the relevant expertise held by the key contributors to the Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice. These include:

Dr Mike Sutton

Reader in Criminology at Nottingham Trent University. Dr Sutton is the founding Director of the Academic Centre of Excellence: Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice. He is also Director and Founding General Editor of the Internet Journal of Criminology. Dr Sutton is research active, teaches and publishes in the areas hate crimes, bias and prejudice, illicit markets, crime reduction, fraud, hi-tech crimes, and the impact of bad science and research founded upon questionable premises on crime reduction, policing and other policy making.

Professor Barbra Perry

Dr Perry is a visiting professor from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and has written extensively in the area of hate crime, including two books:

  • In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crime
  • Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader.

In addition, she has just completed a book manuscript for University of Arizona Press entitled 'The Silent Victims: Native American Victims of Hate Crime', based on interviews with Native Americans, and one on policing Native American communities for Lexington Press. She is also General Editor of a five volume set on hate crime (Praeger), and editor of Volume 3: Victims of Hate Crime of that set.

Dr Paul Hamilton

A lecturer in Criminology at NTU, Dr Hamilton's main research interests are in the fields of crime and prejudice, offender motivation, desistance from crime and the role of human and social capital in facilitating behavioural change. His recently completed PhD explored the relationship between demand and supply in Nottingham's street-level sex markets, principally through an evaluation of the attitudinal and behavioural impacts of a number of new prostitution policy initiatives.

Paul is an active member of Nottinghamshire's Hate Crime Steering Group and Mate Crime Steering Group, and is currently working with Dr Loretta Trickett on an NHS-funded project interviewing perpetrators of hate crimes against those with learning disabilities. For three years, Dr Hamilton has had sole responsibility for the Crime and Prejudice final year undergraduate module at NTU.

Dr Loretta Trickett

A senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and gained her PhD from the University of Birmingham on Men's Fear of Crime and experiences of victimisation. Dr Trickett has also published articles on men and fear of crime, gangs and violence and presented a number of conference papers in these areas.

Related staff

Publications

Below is a selection of research and publications completed by members of the Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice, as well as all conference papers related to the Centre and its members. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Publications

Dr Mike Sutton's key publications on hate crimes
Director of the Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and prejudice.

  • Sutton, M. and Wright, C. (2009), Finding the Far Right Online: An exploratory study of white supremacist websites, Internet Journal of Criminology, www.internetjournalofcriminology.com.
  • Perry, B and Sutton, M (2009), (in press). 'Crossing the line: Discourses on intimate interracial relationships in the US and UK'.
  • Sutton, M. and Perry, B. (2009), Politicking the personal: examining academic literature and British National Party beliefs and wishes about Intimate Interracial Relationships and mixed heritage, Information & Communications Technology Law, Vol. 18, No. 2, June 2009, 83–98.
  • Perry, B. and Sutton, M. (2008), Policing the Colour Line: Violence Against Those in Intimate Interracial Relationships, Race, Gender & Class, Volume 15, Number 3-4, 240-261.
  • Sutton, M. Perry, B. Parke J. and John-Baptiste, C. (2007), Getting the Message Across: Using media to reduce 'racial' prejudice. Department of Communities and Local Government. London. (Peer reviewed national government research report). http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/611667.pdf.
  • Perry, B. and Sutton, M. (2006), Seeing Red over Black and White: Popular and Media Representations of Interracial Relationships as Precursors to Racial Violence, Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice / Revue Canadienne de criminologie et de justice penale. Volume 48, Number 6, October 2006.
  • Griffiths, M and Sutton, M (2003), 'Emails with unintended criminal consequences'. The Criminal Lawyer, number 130, March, (page 6-8).
  • Sutton, M and Griffiths, M (December 2003), 'Emails with unintended consequences'. In P. Hills (Ed) Aspects of Human Communication (Volume 1), Peter Francis Publishers.
  • Mann, D, Sutton, M and Tuffin, R (2003), 'The evolution of hate: Social dynamics in white racist newsgroups', Internet Journal of Criminology.
  • Sutton, M. (2003), Race Hatred and the Far Right on the Internet. Criminal Justice Matters. Special Edition on Hate Crimes. No 48. Summer, pp 26- 27.
  • Mann, D., Sutton, M. and Tuffin, R. (2003), The Evolution of Hate: Social Dynamics in White Racist Newsgroups. Internet Journal of Criminology, www.internetjournalofcriminology.com.
  • Sutton, M. and Griffiths, M. (2002), Far Right Groups on the Internet: A New Problem for Crime Control and Community Safety? The Criminal Lawyer, No.123. June. pp. 3-5.

Professor Barbra Perry's key publications on hate crimes
Visiting Professor (University of Ontario Institute of Technology)

  • Perry, B and Sutton, M (2009), (in press). 'Crossing the line: Discourses on intimate interracial relationships in the US and UK'.
  • Perry, B and Sutton, M (October 2006), 'Seeing red over black and white: Popular and media representations of interracial relationships as precursors to racial violence'. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice or Revue Canadienne de criminologie et de justice penale. Volume 48, Number 6.
  • Perry, B. (2003), 'Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader'. Oxford, Routledge.
  • Perry, B. (2003), 'Where do we go from here in researching hate crimes?' Internet Journal of Criminology.
    Perry, B. (2001), 'In the name of hate: Understanding hate crimes'. Oxford, Routledge.

Dr Paul Hamilton's key publications on hate crimes
Lecturer in Criminology at Nottingham Trent University

  • Hamilton, P., and Trickett, L (in press). 'Disability Violence, Harassment and Hostility: An Offender's Perspective' in The International Handbook of Hate Crime (in press), Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Hopkins Burke, R and Pollock, P (2004), 'A tale of two anomies: Some observations on the contribution of (sociological) criminological theory to explaining hate crime motivation', Internet Journal of Criminology.

Dr Loretta Trickett's key publications on hate crimes

Senior lecturer in Criminology at Nottingham Trent University

  • Hamilton, P., and Trickett, L (in press). 'Disability Violence, Harassment and Hostility: An Offender's Perspective', The International Handbook of Hate Crime (in press), Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Trickett, L. (2011), The Fears of the Fearless, International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, Vol: 280 – 302.
  • Trickett, L. (2009), Don't Look Now – Masculinities, Altruistic Fear and the Spectre of Self: When, Why and How Men Fear for Others. Crimes and Misdemeanours, 3/1.
  • Trickett, L. (2009), Bullying Boys: An Examination of Hegemonic Masculinity in the Playground, The Internet Journal of Criminology, December, p1-19.

Hate crimes publications presented by NTU staff and visiting professors

  • Jovan Byford (2003). 'Anti-semitism and the Christian right in post-Miloševic Serbia'. Internet Journal of Criminology.
  • In Poynting, S and Wilson, J (eds). 'Sticks and stones: Writings and drawings on hatred'. Sydney. Sydney Institute of Criminology and Federation Press.

Conference Papers

Conference Papers on Hate Crimes presented by Mike Sutton:

  • Sutton, M. Hamilton, P. and Trickett, L., (2012), 'Disability Harassment and Hostility in Nottinghamshire: The Importance of an Offender's Perspective', Hate Crime Symposium, Cardiff, April 26th.
  • Sutton, M., (2009), 'What Works, What Does Not Work and What Constitutes Quackery in the use of Media to Reduce Racism? Can Media Reduce Racial Prejudice?', Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance Conference (GARA). Glasgow 23 June 2009.
  • Sutton, M., (2008), 'Finding a Good Way Forwards: Key Lessons from the review of media use to reduce race and ethnic prejudice,: 'Changing Beliefs or Changing Nothing: The Role of Media Campaigns in Reducing Racial Prejudice.' Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance Seminar (GARA). Glasgow, April 11.
  • Sutton, M. and Perry, B., (2007), 'Politicking the Personal: Examining Academic Literature and British National Party beliefs and wishes about intimate interracial relationships and mixed heritage'. Paper presented at the International Conference, Law and Society in the 21st Century. Berlin 2007.
  • Sutton, M and Parke, J., (2005), 'Identifying good practice in the use of the media to reduce racial prejudice', European Society of Criminology Conference, Krakow, Poland.
  • Sutton, M., (2005), 'Reviewing the literature on use of the media to reduce ethnic and racial prejudice'. Third Nottingham International Hate Crimes Conference. Nottingham England
  • Sutton, M., (2005), 'A New Research Agenda', Second International Conference On Hate Crimes: Preventing Hate Violence, Keynote speaker, Northeastern University. Boston USA.
  • Sutton, M. and Perry, B., (2004), 'Researching the use of the media to reduce ethnic and racial prejudice ', American Society of Criminology Conference, Nashville.
  • Sutton, M., (2003), 'Finding The Far Right Online', Thirteenth World Criminology Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  • Sutton, M., (2003), 'Finding the Far Right Online', The Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes first International Hate Crimes Conference. Nottingham.

Conference Papers on Hate Crimes presented by Dr Paul Hamilton:

  • Hamilton, P,. (2013). 'I'm not going down for a muppet': An offender's perspective of Disability Harassment and Hostility, Alternative Futures III Conference, Nottingham, February 13th.
  • Conference Papers on Hate Crimes presented by Dr Loretta Trickett:
  • Trickett, L. (2013), Falling through the Gap: How Hate Crime Laws fail Asylum Seekers, British Criminology Conference, Leicester, July 12th.
  • Trickett, L. (2012), Disability Hate Crime in Nottinghamshire, Victims' Rights and Criminal Justice Symposium, Nottingham, December 2012.
  • Trickett, L (2011), The gender and hate crime against Asian Shopkeepers in Birmingham, European Criminology Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, September 2011.

Internet Journal of Criminology Hate Crimes Papers emerging from themes explored at NTU's International Hate Crimes Conferences

Anti-Semitism and the Christian Right in post-Miloševic Serbia by Jovan Byford
This paper proposes that understanding the causes of anti-Semitic hate crime requires the recognition of the cultural specificity of anti-Semitism, reflected in its unique mythical and conspiratorial nature. By neglecting to consider the idiosyncrasies of anti-Semitic rhetoric, general theories of hate crime often fail to provide an adequate explanation for the persistence of anti-Jewish violence, especially in cultures where Jews do not constitute a conspicuous minority, or where there is no noticeable tradition of anti-Jewish sentiment.
Download

Interactive Race and Gender Differences: Models of Bias by Dr Dyan McGuire, St Louis University, USA
Dyan McGuire's paper is based on a sample of 64,466 young people referred to the juvenile court of Missouri USA in 1997. This important paper uncovers the complex nature of racial and gender bias in the court's decision making. Perhaps the most important finding is that, controlling for other important variables such as offence and offending history, black males and black and white females are disadvantaged by the courts decision making regarding detention and are treated less favourably than white males.
Download

A Tale of Two Anomies by Roger Hopkins Burke and Edward Pollock, both at Nottingham Trent University
"Hate crime scholars have largely avoided thinking about the phenomenon from a sociologically and theoretically informed perspective. What this paper does is state explicitly what many authors have merely implied: that bias motivated crime is in fact a normative response to one's culturally, socially and economically situated experience. In short, this work seeks to explicate the utility of variants of strain theory as accounts of hate crime. It is one of the most exciting papers on hate crime that I have read in some time. It adds something new and vital to the literature. I fully hope that it opens up a dialogue on the application of theory to understanding this persistent problem."

Where Do We Go From Here? Researching Hate Crime by Barbara Perry, Northern Arizona University
This paper identifies several strangely neglected areas of hate crime scholarship, including the lack of critical reflection on the usefulness of the term 'hate crime' as a descriptor of bias motivated behaviour. Concerning measurement issues, concepts and causes, hate groups, responses to hate crimes and comparative scholarship, there are many gaps in our knowledge that are avenues for further enquiry. In particular, we have failed to examine the specificity of the bias crime experiences of diverse victim groups.
Download

'Race', Ethnicity and the Courts by Tahir Abbas, University of Birmingham
This paper discusses findings that have emerged from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department) Courts and Diversity Research Programme. During 1999-2003 four projects were commissioned, completed by academic researchers and published by the department. This paper explores the background issues to the research programme, the specific area of ethnicity within the criminal justice system, and addresses the implications of findings for socio-legal research evidenced-based policy.

Bulldog Whistling: Criminalization of Young Lebanese-Australian Rugby League Fans by Scott Poynting, School of Humanities, University of Sydney, Australia
This article traces the course of a series of moral panics over the banding together, group identification and collective action of certain groups of young people - mainly young men - in and around some mass sporting events in New South Wales, Australia, in 2001-4. It could be a story of 'football hooliganism', except that the sport is not football (or 'soccer', as it is known in Australia), but rugby league. That such collective behaviour had been relatively unknown in this sporting milieu in Australia provided the opportunity for the racialized 'othering' of those labelled as deviant, in the context of the construction of the 'Arab Other' (and later the Muslim Other) as the pre-eminent folk demon of contemporary Australia.
Download

Ethnic Minority Representation on Juries – A Missed Opportunity by Fernne Brennan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Essex, UK
People from ethnic minority groups (non-white) generally do not have confidence in the jury system. This is because they are not, or do not consider that they are, reasonably represented. This has implications for the belief that the right to a fair trial under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is maintained in the courts. This matter arises not only in the UK but in other jurisdictions where the question of racial bias, representation and white juries is raised. Three propositions will be discussed in this paper: a) the exercise of judicial discretion; b) a firm rule requiring a number of people from ethnic minority groups on jury panels where race is an issue and; c) the presence of people from ethnic minority groups on any jury panel.

Finding the Far Right Online: An Exploratory Study of White Supremacist Websites by Mike Sutton, Reader in Criminology and Cecile Wright, Professor of Sociology both at Nottingham Trent University, UK.
White supremacists and the Far Right political movement in the UK have had considerable success in spreading their messages through websites. Some of these websites clearly contribute to an enabling environment for racially motivated violence in our towns and cities and possibly help to underpin also the rise of, and support for, the Far Right in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. From a position that acknowledges the enduring issue of white hegemony in Western societies, this paper provides a number of research-based recommendations for further research and future policy and practice in tackling white supremacist racial hatred on the Net.

The German Hate Crime Concept: An Account of the Classification and Registration of Bias-Motivated Offences and the Implementation of the Hate Crime Model Into Germany's Law Enforcement System by Alke Glet, Criminological Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany
In the United States, hate crime has been on the criminological agenda since the 1980s. In 2001, Germany also made an attempt to adopt a similar concept as part of a reformed police registration system for so-called 'politically motivated offences', focusing predominantly on right-wing extremist crime. However, hate crime is a category which is open to selective interpretations and subjective judgements and to date there are still large empirical deficiencies regarding the identification and classification processes applied by the German police. High levels of ambiguity, uncertainty and arbitrariness initiate a debate surrounding the validity of official hate crime statistics in Germany and reveal a large potential for conflict when it comes to the definition and registration of xenophobic violence and other forms of hate-motivated crime.
Download

Researching White Supremacists Online: Methodological Concerns of Researching Hate 'Speech by Ed Pollock, Lecturer in Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Researching crime online is a new frontier for criminologists, psychologists and sociologists. This paper explains and describes a virtual ethnographic study of white supremacists using a method best described as covert, invisible, non-participatory observation. The paper explains how difficult ethical issues were addressed in the study and points the way forward for further research in this area.
Download

Related projects

The Centre for Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice has sought and been awarded both government and local grants and contracts on several occasions in order to help fund research which has not only developed the knowledge base in the relevant area but has also made a significant contribution to society.

Grants and contracts awarded to the centre

YearGrant/ContractDetails
2012£undisclosed NHS-funded pilot projectProject exploring the motivations, crime 'scripts' and socio-demographic backgrounds of individuals perpetrating disability hostility, violence and harassment.
2005£33,000 Home Office (UK) National government contractNational government contract (With Professor Barbara Perry University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada) to identify good practice through evaluation of local, regional, national and international media-based anti-racial discrimination initiatives.
2005£50,000+ ESRC (UK National Research Council)4 year (1+3) PhD studentship awarded for student (Paul Hamilton) to research street-level prostitution in Nottingham (UK). Doctorate awarded.
2005£12,000 National (UK) government contractNational (UK) government contract (with Professor Mike Levi Cardiff University, UK) to analyse use of far right websites, fraud, hi-tech crime and stolen goods components of (UK) Home Office Crime and Justice Survey and write two government research reports.
2002£10,000 Nottingham Trent University Strategic Development GrantGrant to pump-prime initial fund raising to establish Hate Crimes Centre of Excellence: Nottingham Centre for the Study and Reduction of Hate Crimes, Bias and Prejudice.
2002£35,000 Nottingham Trent University UK Bursary awardPhD Bursary Student (Edward Pollock). Doctorate awarded In the field of Far Right Activity on the Internet.