The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:23 PM

FBI REPORT: Number Of Hate Crimes Reported In 2016 Increased 5% To 6,100 Incidents

The number of reported hate crimes in 2016 increased by nearly 5 percent to more than 6,100, according to a new report by the FBI.

As has long been true, hate crimes based on race were by far the biggest category, with more than half of reported hate crime incidents motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry. Among those, nearly half were anti-black crimes, and nearly 10 percent were anti-Latino. About one in five were anti-white, although white people were still much less likely, when accounting for total population, to suffer a hate crime than minority groups.

Hate crimes motivated by religion were the next biggest category, making up more than 20 percent of reported incidents. Jewish and Muslim people were the two most common targets in this category, with nearly 54 percent and more than 24 percent, respectively, of religiously motivated hate crimes committed against them.

Compared to 2015, there were increases in reported hate crimes nearly across the board. Reported anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by nearly 20 percent, anti-white by 17 percent, anti-Latino by 15 percent, and anti-Jewish by 3 percent. The number of anti-black crimes remained nearly flat from 2015 to 2016.

There were also increases in hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation — by about 2 percent — and gender identity — by nearly 9 percent. Together, those two types of hate crimes made up nearly one in five of all hate crimes reported by the FBI in 2016.

Nearly 26 percent of reported hate crimes were intimidation. About 24 percent were assault. More than 41 percent were property crimes. And five total were murders.

The FBI reported a nearly 7 percent rise in hate crimes in 2015, driven in large part by a 67 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Muslims.

Although the FBI report is the most comprehensive look at the nation’s hate crimes released every year, the report is known to be woefully inadequate — because it may undercount the number by the hundreds of thousands, based on other federal surveys.