FBI: Hate Crimes in 2019 Reached Highest Level in Over a Decade
Written by SOURCE on November 17, 2020
According to a press release put out on Monday by the FBI, reported hate crimes in America in 2019 reached the highest level they’ve been at since 2008.
Data collected from participating law enforcement agencies pinned the total number of crimes meeting the criteria at 7,314, which (again) reaches the highest total since 7,783 such crimes were recorded in 2008. Note that the bureau labels transgressions carried out due to bias based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation or other categories as an act that meets the standard of a hate crime.
The agency also put the number of hate crime murders at 51, which is the highest reported figure in that category since the FBI started keeping track in the early 1990s. That figure increased sharply due to the August 2019 shooting that took place in an El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart, with that massacre being carried out by a suspect who ended up killing 22 people while intending to target Hispanics.
Other notes from the release include that religion-based crimes were up roughly seven percent from a year before, with a notably high 953 reports of crimes being carried out against Jews/Jewish institutions. Crimes against African Americans were down slightly (from 1,943 in 2018 compared to 1,930 in 2019) while crimes against Hispanic people was up (to 527, from 485 in 2018). Crimes said to be based on hate for one’s sexual orientation remained virtually even, with one less crime allegedly motivated by that in 2019 compared to 2018.
The bureau released a breakdown of the victims of the crimes. You can view that here:
It also outlined in its release the following raw numbers pertaining to the offenses committed, as well as the offenders in cases in which that information was known:
Offenses by Crime Category
- Of the 5,512 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2019, 40% were for intimidation, 36.7% were for simple assault, and 21% were for aggravated assault. Fifty-one (51) murders; 30 rapes; and three offenses of human trafficking (commercial sex acts) were reported as hate crimes. The remaining 41 hate crime offenses were reported in the category of other.
- There were 2,811 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property. The majority of these (76.6%) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism. Robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other offenses accounted for the remaining 23.4% of crimes against property.
- Two hundred thirty-six (236) additional offenses were classified as crimes against society. This crime category represents society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity such as gambling, prostitution, and drug violations. These are typically victimless crimes in which property is not the object.
Known Offenders
- In the UCR Program, the term known offender does not imply that the suspect’s identity is known; rather, the term indicates that some aspect of the suspect was identified, thus distinguishing the suspect from an unknown offender. Law enforcement agencies specify the number of offenders and, when possible, the race of the offender or offenders as a group. Beginning in 2013, law enforcement began reporting whether suspects were juveniles or adults, as well as the suspect’s ethnicity when possible.
- Of the 6,406 known offenders, 52.5% were white, and 23.9% were Black or African American. Other races accounted for the remaining known offenders: 1.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.9% were Asian, 0.3% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 6.6% were of a group of multiple races. The race was unknown for 14.6%.
- Of the 5,443 known offenders for whom ethnicity was reported, 33.1% were Not Hispanic or Latino, 10% were Hispanic or Latino, and 1.9% were in a group of multiple ethnicities. Ethnicity was unknown for 55.0% of these offenders.
- Of the 5,599 known offenders for whom ages were known, 84.6% were 18 years of age or older.
You can read the full release here.
