Hate Crime

Hate Crime in the United States

Hate Crime in the Criminal Justice System

Statistics

A study, published in May 2013, by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (Nathan Sandholtz, Lynn Langton, Ph.D, and Michael Planty, Ph.D. 2013. Special Report: Hate Crime Victimization, 2003-2001. NCJ 241291. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics) calls attention to the national gap in hate crime reporting and the importance of this project’s efforts to build a responsive law enforcement network of leaders to work toward bridging and closing this gap.

According to the DOJ study, more than 250,000 Americans over the age of 12 are victimized by hate crimes each year, and 92 percent of all hate crimes between 2007 and 2011 were violent. Despite the severity of these crimes, many went unreported.

The report notes that despite the rise in violent hate crime, the number reported to police declined from 46 percent in 2003–2006 to 36 percent in 2007–2011, even though the average number of violent or property hate crimes remained the same.

Why this reporting decline? The report surveyed victims and found that 24 percent of the responders in 2007–2011 said they did not report the crime because they did not believe the police could or would help. This is up from 14 percent in 2003–2006. Additionally, the number of responders who cited a fear of reprisal or getting the offender in trouble rose to 15 percent in 2007–2011 from 9 percent in 2003–2006.

These statistics point out the reluctance of many targeted groups to deal with police due to historical difficulties with police departments or a feeling that their interests will not be protected.


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