Anti-Hispanic, anti-Semitic hate crimes rose in 2019, Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows
- par Thibaud Popelin
- dans Monde
- — Nov 18, 2020
Hate crimes in MA rose by almost 10% in 2019, according to new data released by the FBI Monday.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation says the number of hate crimes surged previous year, which some say reveals that divisions in American society have deepened.
In 2019, over 24.6 per cent of the hate crime incidents occurred in or near residences or homes and more than 18 per cent occurred on highways, roads, alleys, streets and sidewalks.
But while the FBI's data represents the most detailed study on hate crimes in the USA, advocates believe it still falls short of capturing the true extent of hate crimes. MA had 427 hate crimes in 2017, the highest in 15 years.
A press release from the Jewish civil rights group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the data revealed "a harrowing trend of increasing hate crimes being reported in the United States, even as fewer law enforcement agencies provided data to the FBI".
A hate crime is defined in the report as offences "motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity".
The FBI reported data on hate crimes which alarmed advocacy groups.
"This underreported Federal Bureau of Investigation data only reflects a slice of the lived experiences of Sikhs and other minorities throughout the United States, but it still paints a damning picture", said Nikki Singh, Sikh Coalition policy and advocacy manager, in a statement, noting a decline in anti-Sikh incidents.
Overall, there were 7,314 reported hate crimes past year, including 527 incidents in which Hispanic people were targeted, a 9 percent increase from 2018.
The fatalities include 23 people killed when a white man opened fire at a Walmart store in Texas in August.
FILE - In the is October 10, 2019 file photo, El Paso Walmart shooting suspect Patrick Crusius pleads not guilty during his arraignment in El Paso, Texas.
Some of the 2019 increases may be the result of better reporting by police departments, but more can be done, advocacy groups said after the data was made public.
"These alarming statistics represent real trauma for individuals and families across this country who have to bear the brunt of these hate crimes". Each of those figures is higher than they were in 2018.
Hate crimes have increased to their highest levels in 10 years. There were 866 aggravated assaults last year, up from 818 the previous year.
"Each of these incidents represents the targeting of an individual or community for violence or vandalism due to their identity or personal characteristics", said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy group.
In 2019, anti-Semitic crimes increased 14 percent, according to the ADL.
71 cities with populations of more than 100,000 either reported no data, or reported that zero hate crimes of any kind took place across the entire year, which Human Rights Campaign says "is clearly not credible".
