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| SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS |
In its annual report, the FBI said there were 7,262 hate crime incidents in the United States in 2021. By comparison, 2020 saw 8,263 bias-motivated criminal acts.
“While the FBI’s annual Hate Crime report has been the nation’s best available snapshot of hate violence in America, this year’s data is woefully incomplete, inaccurate and simply cannot be trusted – certainly not to compare to previous years. Victims and communities affected by hate crimes deserve better," said Margaret Huang, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s President and CEO, said in a statement.
"Although the hate crime statistics reported to us are lower in 2021, hate crime statistics overall are not decreasing, meaning of the agencies that are reporting to us, they are reporting an increase in hate crime," an FBI official said during a press call ahead of the report's release.
The latest numbers fail to capture the scope of the problem even more miserably than in previous years.
“Some jurisdictions fail to report hate crime statistics, while others claim there are no hate crimes in their community – a fact that would be welcome, if true,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a congressional hearing last month.
The voluntary nature of the program has resulted in reporting that has been consistently inconsistent. For example, about 3,500 agencies did not report any data to the FBI in the report – including 10 cities with populations over 100,000. And another 60 police departments in cities with populations over 100,000 affirmatively reported zero hate crimes.
The annual report on hate crime statistics is mandated under the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 (HCSA) and compiled from the voluntary submissions of the 18,000 federal, state, university, city and tribal law enforcement authorities across the country.
The 2021 HCSA data is even more drastically incomplete than previous years’ data, to the extent that any comparisons between last year and previous years are almost meaningless.
The lack of compliance by law enforcement agencies is more significant than in past years because 2021 was the first year that the FBI required every agency to report all crime, including hate crimes, through its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Aware of the FBI reports shortcomings, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta issued a statement."The FBI's 2021 Hate Crimes Statistics are a reminder of the need to continue our vigorous efforts to address this pervasive issue in America.
"The Justice Department continues to work with the nation's law enforcement agencies to increase the reporting of hate crime statistics to the FBI to ensure we have the data to help accurately identify and prevent hate crimes," she said.
Although the FBI provided a five-year transition period and technical assistance, many jurisdictions were either unable or unwilling to report through the new system. This noncompliance has resulted in dramatically incomplete reporting: There are 3,300 fewer participating agencies than in 2020, including agencies in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and, essentially, the entire states of Florida and California. Ninety million fewer Americans than in 2020 are covered in the 2021 report.
For example, "The FBI counted only 73 hate crimes from California using 15 out of 740 agencies," said Levin.
“The failure of thousands of police agencies across the country to participate in this report is devastating for the individuals and communities harmed by these crimes and to our ability to understand and prevent them,” said SPLC's Huang.
“Some jurisdictions fail to report hate crime statistics, while others claim there are no hate crimes in their community – a fact that would be welcome, if true,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a congressional hearing last month.
The voluntary nature of the program has resulted in reporting that has been consistently inconsistent. For example, about 3,500 agencies did not report any data to the FBI in the report – including 10 cities with populations over 100,000. And another 60 police departments in cities with populations over 100,000 affirmatively reported zero hate crimes.
The annual report on hate crime statistics is mandated under the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 (HCSA) and compiled from the voluntary submissions of the 18,000 federal, state, university, city and tribal law enforcement authorities across the country.
The 2021 HCSA data is even more drastically incomplete than previous years’ data, to the extent that any comparisons between last year and previous years are almost meaningless.
The lack of compliance by law enforcement agencies is more significant than in past years because 2021 was the first year that the FBI required every agency to report all crime, including hate crimes, through its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Aware of the FBI reports shortcomings, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta issued a statement."The FBI's 2021 Hate Crimes Statistics are a reminder of the need to continue our vigorous efforts to address this pervasive issue in America.
"The Justice Department continues to work with the nation's law enforcement agencies to increase the reporting of hate crime statistics to the FBI to ensure we have the data to help accurately identify and prevent hate crimes," she said.
Although the FBI provided a five-year transition period and technical assistance, many jurisdictions were either unable or unwilling to report through the new system. This noncompliance has resulted in dramatically incomplete reporting: There are 3,300 fewer participating agencies than in 2020, including agencies in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and, essentially, the entire states of Florida and California. Ninety million fewer Americans than in 2020 are covered in the 2021 report.
With nearly one-third of law enforcement agencies not submitting any data last year, "This is the most incomplete reporting going back to the beginning of the hate crime data collection program decades ago," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino and an expert on hate crimes.
For example, "The FBI counted only 73 hate crimes from California using 15 out of 740 agencies," said Levin.
Back in June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a surge of 1,763 hate crimes in 2021 in his state.
Earlier this year, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism published their own report that showed a 20% increase in hate crimes in 2021, with a 224% increase in anti-Asian crime.
“We were looking at a record year for anti-Asian hate crimes,” Levin said. “We counted more anti-Asian hate crimes in just 21 cities than the FBI counted nationwide.”
Earlier this year, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism published their own report that showed a 20% increase in hate crimes in 2021, with a 224% increase in anti-Asian crime.
“We were looking at a record year for anti-Asian hate crimes,” Levin said. “We counted more anti-Asian hate crimes in just 21 cities than the FBI counted nationwide.”
The FBI report's incomplete statistics could give the impression that hate crimes are down when data from other sources indicate a rise in hate crimes based on ethnicity. The misleading conclusion could hamper ongoing efforts to stem the incidents of hate by reducing funding and educational efforts by media, businesses and institutions.
“The failure of thousands of police agencies across the country to participate in this report is devastating for the individuals and communities harmed by these crimes and to our ability to understand and prevent them,” said SPLC's Huang.
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