FBI report shows high hate crime levels, but data missing

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WASHINGTON — Hate crimes in the U.S. remained relatively high last year after a surge not seen in nearly two decades, according to a new FBI report. But experts say it is actually an undercount because thousands of police departments, including some of the country’s largest, didn’t report their data.

Major cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as large swaths of states including Florida and California, didn’t send crime information to the FBI for 2021 due largely to changes in reporting requirements. The agency normally puts out the most comprehensive picture of hate crime in the nation, so this year’s report is concerning for advocates trying to address spikes in hate crimes that have heightened fears among marginalized groups and sparked calls to address the issue head on.

“Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our society and traumatize entire communities,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, as he called on law enforcement to commit to hate-crime data collection. “The failure by major states and cities across the country to report hate crime data essentially — and inexcusably — erases the lived experience of marginalized communities across the country.”

The troubling trend continued this year with a series of brutal, high-profile hate crimes, including a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs and another that targeted Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo.

The nearly 7,300 hate crimes that were documented in the report are the third-highest total in the last decade and deeply alarming, Greenblatt said. The majority of victims were targeted due to their race, followed by sexual orientation and religion. But while the FBI report pointed to a small decrease from 2020 to 2021, other research has found that last year actually saw a troubling increase in hate crimes.

“The Justice Department is committed to prioritizing prevention, investigation and prosecution of hate crimes,” she said. “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.”