Hate Crimes
A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias. Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or gender identity.
For Clery purposes, Virginia State University must report hate crimes which include any offense in the following two groups that is motivated by bias:
Group A
- Murder and Non-negligent manslaughter
- Forcible sex offenses
- Non-forcible sex offenses
- Robbery
- Aggravated assault
- Burglary
- Motor vehicle theft
- Arson
Group B
- Larceny-theft
- Simple assault
- Intimidation
- Destruction/damage/ vandalism of property
The offenses in Group A include all of the Clery Act offenses listed above (with the exception of Negligent Manslaughter and Weapons: Carrying, Possessing, Etc., Drug Abuse Violations, and Liquor Law Violations which cannot be classified as hate crimes). In addition to those offenses, the Group B offenses, i.e., larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation, and destruction/damage/vandalism of property, are only included in the Clery statistics if they are hate crimes.
Larceny-Theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another (larceny and theft mean the same thing in the UCR). Constructive possession is the condition in which a person does not have physical custody or possession, but is in a position to exercise dominion or control over a thing.
Simple Assault is an unlawful physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
Intimidation is to unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property is to willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface, or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.
VSU’s Annual Security Report contains information to aid in the cooperative effort of creating a safer campus. As such, it contains specific information on safety and security, crime prevention, patrol operations and breadth of authority, policies relating to reporting crime, campus disciplinary procedures, crime statistics for the three previous calendar years, and fire safety disclosures and statistics.
Each year, an e-mail notification is made to all enrolled students, faculty and staff that provide the website to access this report. However, the report is readily accessible via website for prospective students, faculty and staff and can be requested by current or prospective VSU persons by mailing or calling DPPS.
