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Police bias units and hate crime reporting: Insights from the geocoded version of the National Crime Victimization Survey

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  • Piatkowska, Sylwia J.
  • Lantz, Brendan
  • Mills, Jack M.

Abstract

This study examines the role of police bias units as a factor in hate crime reporting. We use a series of survey logistic regression models to analyze a restricted version of the National Crime Victimization Survey, which we merge with data on the presence of police bias units. The results indicate that the greater presence of police bias units is positively associated with an increased likelihood of hate crime reporting. Notably, with an initial increase in police bias units, hate crime victimization aligns more closely with official hate crime statistics. The effect of police bias units is also conditioned by community characteristics. These findings carry important policy implications, underscoring the vital role of police bias units in enhancing hate crime reporting and identifying communities where their effects are most pronounced.

Suggested Citation

  • Piatkowska, Sylwia J. & Lantz, Brendan & Mills, Jack M., 2026. "Police bias units and hate crime reporting: Insights from the geocoded version of the National Crime Victimization Survey," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:102:y:2026:i:c:s0047235225002302
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102581
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Min Xie & Janet L. Lauritsen, 2012. "Racial Context and Crime Reporting: A Test of Black’s Stratification Hypothesis," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 265-293, June.
    2. Mark T. Berg & Janet L. Lauritsen, 2016. "Telling a Similar Story Twice? NCVS/UCR Convergence in Serious Violent Crime Rates in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Places (1973–2010)," Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 61-87, March.
    3. Vanden Bosch, Matthew & Lantz, Brendan, 2025. "Differential compliance with the reporting of hate crime statistics as a function of state laws," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Brendan Lantz & Marin R. Wenger & Jack M. Mills, 2024. "The individual impacts of hate crime victimization," Chapters, in: James Hawdon & Matthew Costello (ed.), Research Handbook on Hate and Hate Crimes in Society, chapter 4, pages 59-81, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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