Schools moved from the fourth most likely place where hate crimes occur in the U.S. to the third from 2021 to 2022, according to recently released data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In 2021, there were 548 hate crimes reported at schools, compared to 842 in 2022. Overall, hate crimes located at schools made up 10% of the 10,891 hate crimes reported that year, said CBS News.
As the 2022 school year started, the United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service was concerned about campus hate crimes and held events aimed at mitigating them. However, hate crimes kept increasing.
“In 2018, 8.2% of all reported hate crimes occurred at academic institutions, a number that dropped to just 3.9% in 2020 – likely an outcome of widespread remote learning during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CBS. “By 2022, 10% of all reported hate crimes happened at schools or on campuses.”
Per the outlet, more than 5,000 juveniles were classified as victims of reported hate crimes over a five-year period studied by the FBI. More than 1,700 of those students experienced the reported bias-motivated offense at a school location.
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While the school-related hate crimes were not broken down by bias in the FBI data, the bureau did break down overall crimes by bias. At 3,297, anti-Black bias was the most common, followed by anti-white, anti-gay (male), anti-Jewish and anti-Asian. Research regarding 2020 shared by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that racially based hate crimes were the most prevalent that year.
According to a recent report from the Anti-Defamation League, anti-semitic incidents at universities have increased since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October. That attack sparked the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
“Reporting suspected hate crimes is vital to support victims and send a clear message that such actions are unacceptable. Law enforcement can also use this information to prevent future incidents,” said the FBI. “If you believe you have been the victim of a hate crime, learn how to report it.”
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