Introduction: Understanding Hate Crime: Research, Policy and Practice

In 2013, a group of scholars from Europe and North America came together to form the International Network for Hate Studies (INHS). The key aims of the network included bridging gaps between academics and policy makers/practitioners in the field, and “internationalizing” our understanding of hate crime generally. In the spring of 2014, INHS held its inaugural conference at the University of Sussex in Brighton, the United Kingdom. In this special edition of Criminal Justice Policy Review (CJPR), we bring together expanded versions of four of the keynote speeches from that conference. In distinct ways, each speaks to the key themes noted above, as this brief introduction will illustrate.