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22
it is a minority criminal element that can instill fear through the use of stereotypes. 65 When persons of protected groups are victims of hoaxes, they face the inherent risks of the negative and false stereotypes.
Russell-Brown presents a compelling argument about the societal perception that the criminal element is “colored”, and this researcher cannot argue with her conclusion that racial hoaxes are heinous and should be deterred and punished (criminalized) through legislation. However, there may be a different rationale or explanation behind Russell-Brown’s conclusion that racial hoaxes are a direct result of a stereotype that persons of color commit crime.
Another aspect of Russell’s research that receives less emphasis is that, while people of color may more often be the truvi’s, it is whites who are the hoaxsters, the vipers, the real criminals in hate crime hoaxes. When hoax legislation is passed, it will be whites facing both the legal and societal consequences for their actions, and they, as a group, may eventually gain reputations for being associated with criminal activity and the waste of public resources.66
There is a growing consensus about the need for a criminal justice policy that would impose harsh punishment for hoaxes. Russell and I agree that “the failure to impose any legal sanctions for [these] hoaxes suggests that the existing penalties are ineffective,” as most violations for filing a false police report are either not
65 Jennifer Wilbanks blamed her faked abduction on a fictitious Hispanic man and a white woman. Russell, Katheryn K., The Color of Crime, Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and other Macroaggressions, New York University Press, Albany, New York, 1998.
66 This hypothesis is offered, not to belittle the notion of the “colored” criminal element, but to raise the possibility that properly placed blame may, over time, begin to slowly erode the present stereotype.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 28 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 22 it is a minority criminal element that can instill fear through the use of stereotypes. 65 When persons of protected groups are victims of hoaxes, they face the inherent risks of the negative and false stereotypes. Russell-Brown presents a compelling argument about the societal perception that the criminal element is “colored”, and this researcher cannot argue with her conclusion that racial hoaxes are heinous and should be deterred and punished (criminalized) through legislation. However, there may be a different rationale or explanation behind Russell-Brown’s conclusion that racial hoaxes are a direct result of a stereotype that persons of color commit crime. Another aspect of Russell’s research that receives less emphasis is that, while people of color may more often be the truvi’s, it is whites who are the hoaxsters, the vipers, the real criminals in hate crime hoaxes. When hoax legislation is passed, it will be whites facing both the legal and societal consequences for their actions, and they, as a group, may eventually gain reputations for being associated with criminal activity and the waste of public resources.66 There is a growing consensus about the need for a criminal justice policy that would impose harsh punishment for hoaxes. Russell and I agree that “the failure to impose any legal sanctions for [these] hoaxes suggests that the existing penalties are ineffective,” as most violations for filing a false police report are either not 65 Jennifer Wilbanks blamed her faked abduction on a fictitious Hispanic man and a white woman. Russell, Katheryn K., The Color of Crime, Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and other Macroaggressions, New York University Press, Albany, New York, 1998. 66 This hypothesis is offered, not to belittle the notion of the “colored” criminal element, but to raise the possibility that properly placed blame may, over time, begin to slowly erode the present stereotype. |
