Georgia § 17-4-20 - 2. Bias Crime Report; requirements; use of reports; publication.

§ 17-4-20. 2. Bias Crime Report; requirements; use of reports; publication.

Whenever a law enforcement officer investigates an incident of a crime in which it appears that the defendant intentionally selected any victim or group of victims or any property as the object of the offense because of such victim's or group of victims' actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability, or physical disability, whether or not an arrest is made, the officer shall prepare and submit to the law enforcement officer's supervisor or other designated person a written report of the incident entitled "Bias Crime Report." Forms for such reports shall be designed and provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The report shall include: Names of the parties; Relationship of the parties; Sex and gender of the parties; Race of the parties; Religion of the parties; Dates of birth of the parties; Time, place, and date of the incident; Whether there is evidence to indicate that the incident occurred because of a person's actual or perceived attributes as specified by subsection (a) of this Code section; Type and extent of the alleged violation; Existence of any objects or symbols associated with the terrorizing of persons based upon actual or perceived race, religion, or sex; Number and types of weapons involved, if any; Existence of any prior difficulties between the parties; Type of police action taken in disposition of case; Whether the victim was apprised of available remedies and services; and Any other information the officer deems pertinent. The report provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be considered for statistical purposes only and, where no arrests are made, shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. However, upon request, a defendant who has been arrested for a criminal violation subject to Code Section 17-10-17 and the victim shall be entitled to review and copy any report prepared in accordance with this Code section relating to the defendant. Each police department, including local precincts and county sheriff departments, shall report, according to rules and regulations of the Georgia Crime Information Center, all incidents involving alleged criminal violations subject to the provisions of this Code section, both arrests and nonarrests, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which shall compile and analyze statistics of such crimes and cause them to be published annually in the Georgia Uniform Crime Reports. An offense shall be counted for each incident reported to the police. A zero shall be reported if no incidents have occurred during the reporting period. (Code 1981, § 17-4-20.2 , enacted by Ga. L. 2020, p. 10, § 2/HB 426.) Effective date. - This Code section became effective July 1, 2020.