User Manuals

This document is designed to assist law enforcement with collecting and submitting data on bias-motivated offenses to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The manual is a collaborative effort of the FBI, law enforcement agencies, and various civil and human rights organizations. It also addresses policy, the types of bias crimes to be reported, how to identify a hate crime through training scenarios, and guidelines for reporting hate crime. For more than two decades, thousands of city, county, college and university, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies have voluntarily submitted data to the UCR Hate Crime Statistics Program on crimes motivated by prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientations, or ethnicity. The manual has most recently been revised to include guidance concerning bias crimes against the Arab, Hindu, and Sikh communities, as approved by the CJIS Advisory Policy Board and signed by the FBI Director in June 2013.

Note: The Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service (CRS) provides free cultural competency training programs. These 2-4 hour and roll call programs are intended to familiarize law enforcement and government officials with recognized customs and cultural aspects of such groups as Arab, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and Transgender communities. These programs were designed as an effective tool for helping law enforcement improve their understanding, partnership, outreach, and reporting mechanism with these communities. For more information about CRS services and training programs, visit its website or call (202) 305-2935 for the closest office.