Tag Archives: police

A Hard Look at the FBI’s Transgender Victimization Data

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I’ve seen several blogs report high-level results from the recently-released 2013 Hate Crime Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Primarily, the newsworthy item is that the FBI listed only 33 cases of transgender hate crimes (that is, hate crimes where gender identity was the single motivating factor) across the entire United States for the study year. This number prima facie appears to be tragically low, but I believe that some of the anger directed at the FBI is sadly misplaced.

The FBI can only report that which has been first reported to them. The FBI is not the primary investigating agency for the vast majority of crimes, so the people who decide on whether or not a crime has a hate crime component are the local prosecutors and district attorneys. Second, a very large number of crimes against us are not reported by the victims. I personally know of three transgender persons in Kansas City who were physically assaulted for their gender identity or presentation recently. Since none of them would report the assaults to the police, those events were not officially reported.

It must also be noted that the qualification for a crime to be a hate crime is stricter than most people believe, and it involves establishing the motivation of the attacker. For example, merely using a transgender slur like “stupid tranny!” during an attack does not in itself qualify the attack as a hate crime. Words can easily be taken to be “incidental” during an attack. The government must establish that the gender identity or expression of the victim was a primary motivating factor for instigating the attack. And here we get into a bit of a quagmire, as establishing someone’s true motivations is quite difficult. Since we cannot read the minds of others, a perpetrator can simply claim “I was drunk and don’t remember saying anything like that” or “I was mad, I said a lot of things I don’t mean” as a defense to avoid a hate crime charge. Unless witnesses can give first-hand testimony or some self-incriminating evidence exists of the intent of the act, making a hate crime charge “stick” is difficult.

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That having been said, there are some interesting facts from the report which I have not seen reported elsewhere, and I’d like to focus on some of them because perhaps we can learn some helpful information. Of the 33 victims and 31 incidents:

  • 25 cases were anti-transgender hate crimes, and 8 were for gender non-conforming behavior.
  • Most attacks were perpetrated by a single individual (39 offenders total per 33 victims total).
  • 8 of the anti-transgender crimes were aggravated assault, 7 were simple assault, 4 were criminal intimidation, 3 were robbery, 1 was burglary, and 2 cases were vandalism.
  • 1 of the gender non-conforming crimes was rape, 3 were simple assault, 2 were larceny/theft, and 2 were vandalism.
  • 4 offenders were white, 17 black, 4 were of unknown race for anti-transgender crimes. For gender non-conforming crimes, 4 offenders were white, 1 was black, 1 was of multiple races, and 2 were unknown race.
  • A total of 28 incidents were perpetrated upon human beings, and the rest against a business or institution or other “victim.”
  • 2 incidents occurred at a transportation terminal, 1 at a bar or nightclub, 1 at a commercial office, 1 at a department store, 1 at a doctor’s office or pharmacy or hospital, 7 incidents happened on a surface road or alleyway, 2 incidents were in a parking lot or a garage, 5 were in a home, 2 in a restaurant, 1 at a college or university, 1 at a gas station, 1 was on tribal lands, and the rest were in an unknown location.
  • NO incidents of transgender or gender identity crime were reported in Kansas. Two incidents occurred in Kansas City Missouri.

There are in fact only a few things to be learned from such a small number of events, but if we want to assume this sample size has any validity, it would appear that the primary conclusions can be drawn about anti-transgender hate crimes:

  • They are generally perpetrated by a single assailant.
  • About half of all crimes are assaults, and rapes are uncommon.
  • They can happen anywhere, with prevalence towards the home environment and streets.

While the racial profile of perpetrators is largely black, there is no matrix of perpetrator race/victim race to analyze. Therefore, we cannot say whether the high number of black perpetrators was due to a high amount of black-on-black transgender hate crimes, or whether racial bias was a coincident factor.

Let us also not forget that hate crimes based on sexual orientation – numbering 1,461 in 2013 – may very well encompass members of the transgender community, as anywhere between 50-75% of transgender persons identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or some other sexual preference than heterosexual.

What is the takeaway from this data? I’ll say it’s simply this – transgender and gender non-conforming persons need to stay in groups. Since more acts are committed by a single assailant, and can happen nearly anywhere, safety in numbers becomes key. If you are at all uncertain about going to a specific location or venue, go with someone else. If it’s late and you want to leave a bar and head to your car, ask a doorman to walk with you. Tip them if necessary. Stay in groups, stay alert, and stay safe.

San Francisco PD Welcomes First Transgender Officer

It may seem very ironic that San Francisco, one of the cradles of transgender rights, and one of the very first places where the police actively sought to work with the transgender population (via officer Elliot Blackstone) for social justice, has taken this long to see its first transgender police officer sworn in.

Officer Mikayla Connell is featured in a video at the link below, where she says that being the first means:

“It means you can’t screw up, because you can’t ruin it for everyone coming behind you.”

“I know people, especially in the trans community, are going to be watching me,” she adds. “I can’t let them down.”

Connell first applied to be a police officer 23 years ago, notes KTVU. “But I was a little immature back then,” she explains. She chose to leave the academy and enter the military, then study law.

Good luck, officer Connell!

WATCH: San Francisco Police Dept. Welcomes First Transgender Officer | Advocate.com.

Police Blotter – March 28, 2014

Police_Measuring_Skirt_LengthPoliceman Chuck Peyton checks to see if the old-fashioned bathing suit worn by actress Myrna Ross complies with 1933 Redondo Beach ordinance banning women’s suits that are more than 3 in. above knee.

This “police blotter” posting contains three law-related stories involving the transgender community – one positive, and two negative.

Let’s start with the positive, and discuss a new program by the Department of Justice to train local police officers across the nation to better protect and serve transgender persons. As National Public Radio reports,

The new initiative is aimed at helping police identify hate crimes and build trust with a community that law enforcement officials say is too often reluctant to report crimes.

“It’s clear that such a training is as necessary as it is overdue,” Associate Attorney General Tony West said at a ceremony unveiling the program. “Because too often, in too many places, we know that transgender victims are discouraged from reporting hate crimes and hate violence due to their past negative interactions with and perceptions of law enforcement.”

Deputy Attorney General James Cole said it was unacceptable that transgender people don’t report crimes against them “based on the community’s fears about law enforcement’s support and perceptions.”

“This is not a result that can or will be tolerated by the Department of Justice, and it runs counter to the very role your community public safety officials want to promote,” Cole said.

Strong words which I hope form a new basis for trust between our people and law enforcement.
Francesca_QuarantaOfficer Francesca Quaranta

Now a negative report – last November I reported on the case of a Connecticut police officer who filed harassment charges against her department after coming out at work. Unfortunately for Officer Francesca Quaranta, an investigation undertaken by the City of Middleton, Connecticut has found “no evidence that a transgender police officer was subject to discrimination or a hostile work environment.” Now, I report this as bad news not because I’m passing judgement on the city – I’m sitting 1,500 miles away and know nothing at all about the case, although I can point to a history where discrimination against our people is the norm, rather than an exception. It’s bad news because Officer Quaranta obviously feels she was the victim of harassment, and this investigation provides no closure for her.

Finally, a story no one wants to see, but which we need to report upon, because the haters out there will report on it, and we need to be informed so we can be ready for those who want to “teach the controversy.” A Columbus, Ohio transgender woman is being charged with one felony count each of sodomy and child molestation, resulting from an alleged incident between the defendant and a 15 year-old boy. The accused, Christopher Antwain Russell, told police that the teen claimed to be 18 years old. Reading the details as reported in the link above, it really appears to be a case of “she said, he said,” with little to no physical evidence.

What’s the truth? I’ll keep an eye open for developments.

Connecticut Transgender Police Officer Files Harassment Complaint Against Her Department

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Another transgender employment tragedy? Mostly, but what is positive is that her department at least the Mayor has come right out with something positive to say.

Mayor Daniel Drew said he and Police Chief William McKenna have not stopped Quaranta from returning to work.

“Officer Quaranta is a good officer with a good record,” Drew said. “She is welcome to come back at any time.”

While it sounds at first like the dispute is over minor things, such as hair length and nail polish, later we learn:

Drew said the city has substantiated one of Quaranta’s claims of discrimination, and has suspended Sgt. Nicholas Baboolal for 10 days because of a comment he made in March. An internal affairs investigation substantiated a report that Baboolal referred to Quaranta as a “cave man.”

Baboolal received notification of his suspension on Friday. Quaranta said Baboolal has apologized to her many times, and although she was extremely upset by the comment at first, she has forgiven him.

“Cave man?” Now that’s a new one.

Transgender Police Officer Files Harassment Complaint Against Middletown Department – Courant.com.

UK: Transsexual Police Officer Suing for Being Outed

The basics: police constable Emma Chapman is suing for being embarrassed when a police dispatcher questioned her on her male-sounding voice on the police party-line radio. She says she was forced to declare she was a transsexual over the radio and this led to her suffering from severe emotional distress to the tune of £3,000 (about $5,000).

I can understand the embarrassment, as it’s implied she was deep stealth. And I sympathize with the issue of being “sir’d” on the phone or radio. I hope she is able to come to an arrangement and continue being out there and on the force, as we need every one of us to be mainstreamed.

 

Transsexual police officer suing force after discrimination claims | Latest News | News | Daily Star. Simply The Best 7 Days A Week.