Relevant yet Irrelevant: Challenges Associated with Hate Crime Policy

This chapter describes the way in which hate crime policy has become increasingly relevant to many Western states and highlights the value of these developments in terms of facilitating access to justice, embodying the values of a state and deterring prejudicial and hostile sentiment. It begins by considering how hate crime has ‘translated’ across national boundaries, comparing the implementation of different policy frameworks designed to combat hate crime. It is argued that while there have been some successes in dealing with hate crime in certain individual countries, in others much work still needs to be done in developing effective policies and practices which offer meaningful protection from hate crime.