Source: Marut Khobtakhob / Getty
Hate crimes fueled by race, religion and sexual orientation soared in 2022, a new report by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program revealed on Oct.16. Homes, highways and schools were some of the most common areas where hate crime offenses took place last year.
According to the data — which was submitted by 14,631 law enforcement agencies around the country — 11,634 incidents of hate crimes were reported in 2022, up 7% from 2021.
The FBI’s eyebrow-raising report found that 27% of hate crime incidents in 2022 occurred near residences or homes. Around 16% occurred on highways, streets, or sidewalks and 7% took place at elementary or secondary schools. According to the report, 6% of hate crimes were reported near parking lots and playgrounds. Around 10% occurred in unknown locations.
A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against an individual or a group of people because of their perceived race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender or disability. They are often referred to as bias crimes or bias-motivated crimes.
The motivation behind a hate crime is typically rooted in prejudice, bigotry or bias against the victim’s characteristics. These crimes not only harm the individual victims but can also have a broader impact on the targeted community by creating fear, tension and division.
According to the FBI, around 13,337 of the reported offenses were motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.
Anti-Black, anti-Jewish, and anti-gay hate crimes were the most commonly reported forms of bias in 2022.
According to the data, 3,424 incidents of anti-Black hate crimes were reported in 2022. Anti-Jewish crimes occurred 1,124 times and around 1,077 anti-gay crimes were documented. Incidents of crimes motivated by religion climbed to 2,044 in 2022.
Of the 10,299 known offenders, 51% were White and 21% were Black or African American. There were around 17.4% of hate crime incidents reported in 2022 where race was unknown.
Hate crimes have been climbing since 2021, a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found.
A report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism released in August found that bias crimes spiked 22% within 10 of the largest U.S. cities between 2021 and 2022.
Los Angeles had the most reported hate crimes, with a staggering record of 609. Around 195 of those cases were classified as anti-Black. Around 98 of those incidents were reported as anti-gay, 91 as anti-Jewish and 88 as anti-Latino.
Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, had an 84.6 % spike in hate crime violence followed by Austin, Texas, at 58.6%, according to the data.
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Top 5 Locations Where Hate Crimes Were Reported was originally published on newsone.com
