§ 52-8.5 Reporting hate crimes
A. The Superintendent shall establish and maintain within the Department of State Police a central repository for the collection and analysis of information regarding hate crimes and groups and individuals carrying out such acts.
B. State, county, and municipal law-enforcement agencies shall report to the Department all hate crimes occurring in their jurisdictions in a form, time, and manner prescribed by the Superintendent. Such reports shall not be open to public inspection except insofar as the Superintendent shall permit.
C. As used in this section: “Disability” means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities. “Hate crime” means (i) a criminal act committed against a person or his property with the specific intent of instilling fear or intimidation in the individual against whom the act is perpetrated because of race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin or that is committed for the purpose of restraining that person from exercising his rights under the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth or of the United States; (ii) any illegal act directed against any persons or their property because of those persons’ race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin; and (iii) all other incidents, as determined by law-enforcement authorities, intended to intimidate or harass any individual or group because of race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin.
History
This law was first created in 1988. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 838 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1988 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2002, chapters 588 and 623; in 2020, chapters 124, 746, and 1171.
1988, c. 838; 2002, cc. 588, 623; 2020, cc. 124, 746, 1171.