Final answer:
When responding to a hate crime, a police report should be filed with local law enforcement and can optionally be reported to the FBI. The Matthew Shepard Act includes gender and sexual orientation in federal hate crime law and stresses the importance of reporting for accurate hate crime statistics.
Step-by-step explanation:
When responding to a hate crime, the form that typically needs to be filled out is a police report through local law enforcement, as well as any subsequent forms they provide as part of the investigation. Additionally, for federal tracking purposes, the incident can be reported to the FBI, who collects hate crime statistics.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law in 2009, expanded federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilities. It is important for victims or witnesses of hate crimes to report these incidents as they contribute to national statistics and help in creating policies for protection and prevention.
The discrepancy between the data on hate crimes reported by different agencies and the actual occurrences is significant, emphasizing the importance of reporting these crimes for accurate representation and subsequent policy formulation.