FBI releases hate crime numbers, but data is incomplete

The FBI released its 2021 hate crime statistics, but the data falls short of providing a complete picture of targeted violence in the U.S. Despite rising concerns about targeted violence and domestic terrorism, less than two-thirds of law enforcement agencies reported data on hate crimes to the FBI, last year, marking a significant drop-off. 

There are more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., but reporting hate crimes data by state, local and tribal agencies remains voluntary.

The FBI reported 65% of victims were targeted because of their offenders’ bias against race and ethnicity, while 16% were targeted because of the offenders’ bias toward their sexual orientation and 13% were targeted because of their religion.

“The prevalence of hate crimes has increased,” said Brian Griffith, FBI deputy assistant director in an interview. “It continues to be a concern throughout the country. Race, ethnicity and ancestry continue to be the largest targeted categories.” Griffith added that the largest subset of those – nearly half—is anti-Black hate, followed by 21% anti-White bias and 10% anti-Latino bias.

Nearly a third of all religious health crime involve anti-Jewish bias, while 21% involve anti-Sikh violence, according to the FBI.

The bureau defines a hate crime as a “committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”

Of the 5,781 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2021: 

Thirteen rapes and nine murders were also reported as hate crimes.  

Agency participation for hate crime statistics fell dramatically from 93% in 2020 to 65% in 2021. That drop comes as the FBI and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics transition to a more detailed and comprehensive crime-reporting system, known as the “National Incident-Based Reporting System” or NIBRS. The new data collection method offers a more complete picture of crime in the nation, with additional information gathered about victims, offenders, and those arrested — including age, sex, and race, as well as a description of any relationship between victim and offender. 

“Everything from the bias to the race, ethnicity, different demographics of the subject. The previous summary reporting system – all we were receiving was aggregate data results,” said Griffith. “Now we’re going to understand much more clearly about the bias, the location of incidents, the weapons or tools that were used. Incident based reporting will give us much more insight.”

Incidents of hate crimes are not decreasing, according to the FBI. But until participation in the FBI’s new data collection programs increases, the bureau will not be able to make a meaningful comparison of the number of hate crimes with years past.  

The FBI has been collecting hate crime statistics since 1990. But senior FBI officials called the expected transition to NIBRS “a huge challenge” in releasing hate crime data for the 2021 calendar year. 

“The lack of objective hate crime data has been a long standing problem,” said Michael German, Liberty & National Security Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and former FBI agent who served 16 years at the bureau. “The FBI and the Justice Department have been promoting NIBRS as the answer. So it’s frustrating that when it’s in place, the data reporting is even worse.”

Federal law enforcement officials and experts alike concede hate-crime data has long gone underreported, with victim groups often reluctant to report incidents of targeted violence and local law enforcement sometimes reticent to self-report statistics.”

“Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act in 1990, requiring the Justice Department to produce national data regarding hate crimes. And the Justice Department abdicated this responsibility and instead asked state and local governments to report voluntarily. And that’s been the problem ever since,’ German added.

“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,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray, last month, while testifying on Capitol Hill.

“We recognize that sometimes community groups don’t want to report these incidents. They often go under-reported,” FBI Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section Chief Joe Rothrock told CBS News.

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, noted 35 major U.S. cities reported zero hate crimes in 2021. “The report provides a woefully inadequate assessment of the reality and extent of hate crimes targeting Jews in the United States,” he said in a statement.

Major cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Miami, did not provide data to the bureau. Others, including Chicago and Phoenix, reported zero hate crimes in 2021, according to the FBI’s report.

“Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our society and traumatize entire communities,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “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.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents reached a record-breaking 2,717, last year. The spike represents a 34% increase from last year and the highest number since the group first began tracking the numbers in 1979.

Non-profit coalition Stop AAPI Hate reported 6,273 hate incidents against Asian-American and Pacific Islander people last year.

The Justice Department has charged 60 individuals with hate crimes since 2021, a senior DOJ official briefed reporters, obtaining convictions against 55.

“What’s important here is to draw a distinction… what this [data transition] does not reflect is the FBI or law enforcement’s broader commitment to investigating reporting from victims,” Rothrock told CBS News. “So, rest assured if you’re a victim of a hate crime or a witness of a hate crime and you report that incident to local law enforcement or the FBI, we remain committed to investigating those crimes.”