NewsRescue
According to data from 2021 analyzed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and released on Monday, hate crimes in the United States have continued to rise sharply and have now reached their highest level since records began.
Overall, 9,065 hate crimes were reported in 2021, up from 8,120 in 2020, a 12% increase.
Initial data appeared to show a decrease in hate crimes until data from some of the most populous cities, including New York and Los Angeles, were included.
According to the data, black people were the most likely to be targeted with bias or prejudice, with 2,233 instances documented in the report. According to the FBI, 64.5% of hate-crime victims were targeted because of their race, ethnicity, or ancestry, with 15.9% of recorded cases associated with prejudice against sexual orientation and 14.1% with prejudice against religious beliefs.
Jewish people accounted for slightly more than half of the incidents involving religious bias. Anti-white prejudice was observed in 948 cases, which was slightly less than the number of LGBTQ people.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland has promised to take additional steps to ensure that his Justice Department combats hate crimes across the country effectively. Following a “racially motivated” shooting of ten black people in Buffalo, New York, in 2021, Garland stated that the threats facing the country are “evolving,” and that the DOJ must also evolve to “make better use of our non-criminal tools.”
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement accompanying the latest report that the department is committed to increasing reporting to get a “more complete picture of hate crimes nationwide.”