A report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that hate crimes in the U.S. rose to their highest levels in more than a decade in 2020.
The report says that there were 7,554 hate crime incidents involving 10,528 victims in 2020. This was a 6% rise from 2019, according to the data provided by the FBI.
The FBI defines a hate crime as “a committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, and gender identity.”
Of the crimes reported, 62% were targeted because of the offenders’ bias for race or ethnicity. In comparison, just over 20% were targeted due to the offenders’ bias toward sexual orientation, according to the report.
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In 2020, 28.3% of hate crimes occurred in or near residences, nearly 20% took place on roads, streets, alleys, or highways, 6.5% occurred at schools or colleges, and 3.6% took place in houses of worship.
The data also showed that there were 2,755 anti-Black incidents and 274 incidents targeting Asians in 2020. These were both up from the numbers reported in 2019 of 1,900 anti-Black incidents and 160 incidents targeting Asians.
The report uses data collected from more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide. Advocates have said that hate crime statistics are vastly underreported, Bay News9 reported.
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