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Source: CriminalJusticeDegreeHub.com

The Alarming Patterns of Hate Crime in America

As defined by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, hate crimes are “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

2003-2006:

63% Race

27% Ethnicity

16% Sexual Orientation

15% Gender/Gender Identity

10% Religion

10% Disability

2007-2011:

54% Race

30% Ethnicity

21% Religion

18% Sexual Orientation

18% Gender/Gender Identity

14% Disability

When we look at the total number of hate crimes, things get complicated quickly.

2012 FBI Report:

5,796

2012 National Crime Victim Survey:

293,800

2012 Bureau of Justice Statistics:

293,790

The difference? FBI data is aggregated from voluntary law enforcement agencies, whereas NCVS and BJS data are based on surveyed victims.

Here’s how some of the 2012 FBI data breaks down:

Alabama — 6 total reported hate crimes

Mississippi — 4 total reported hate crimes

Hawaii — 0 total reported hate crimes

Tulsa, Oklahoma — 0 total reported hate crimes

Miami, Florida — 0 total reported hate crimes

Tampa, Florida — 0 total reported hate crimes

80 other cities with populations greater than 100,000 — 0 total reported hate crimes

But among states with the highest rate of active hate groups are:

Mississippi

Alabama

Oklahoma

States with the most hate groups are:

California

Florida

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Texas

Tennessee

Georgia

Ohio

Virginia

The most represented hate groups are:

Neo Nazi

Racist Skinhead

White Nationalist

Black Separatist

KKK

Neo-Confederate

Christian Identity

But hate groups’ collective crimes might be on the decline. Instead, we’re experiencing the rise of the lone wolf.

2009-2015 Hate Violence and Domestic Terrorism:

74% carried out by 1 person

90% carried out by 1 or 2 people

1 act every 34 days

As the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, “Authorities have had far more success penetrating plots concocted by several people than individuals who act on their own…the lone wolf’s chief asset is the fact that no one else knows of his plans for violence and they are therefore exceedingly difficult to disrupt.”

Hate crimes are also becoming increasingly violent — which includes simple assault and robbery — with an especially disarming uptick in “serious violent crimes,” which include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault:

2003-2006:

84% violent

23% serious violent

2007-2011:

92% violent

29% serious violent

They’re also taking place in ostensibly safe and/or public areas:

33% victim’s home

16% commercial venue

24% parking lot/street/public transportation

Police aren’t the only ones under-reporting. The percent of hate crime victims who don’t report to police is also on the rise:

2003-2006:

52%

2007-2011:

60%

Among the most popular reasons:

“Not important enough”

“No insurance gain”

“Afraid of reprisal”

“Advised not to report”

“Police could not or would not help”

“Dealt with another way”

2003-2006 Incidents that ended in arrests:

9%

2007-2011 Incidents that ended in arrests:

4%

But perhaps the most telling fact is this: hate crime rates have remained steady over time, or at least since the HCSA was passed in 1990, which for the first time required governments to record hate crime numbers. Unfortunately, the problem may be changing, but it’s not going away.

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