Today, the FBI released its 2016 Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) hate crimes data which shows a five percent increase in hate crimes data reported by law enforcement agencies over the last year, with the majority (59 percent) of hate crimes targeting people on the basis of race and ethnicity; over 50 percent of these crimes targeted African Americans on the basis of race.  The data also demonstrated a disturbing 19 percent increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims, building on the growing numbers reported last year.

“The UCR data represents just a fraction of the total number of hate crimes committed,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Justice Department’s own surveys for 2015 suggest that UCR data dramatically underrepresents the actual number of hate crimes experienced by community members, demonstrating that an estimated two-thirds of hate crimes go unreported to law enforcement, to begin with. This, paired with the fact that UCR hate crime reporting is voluntary, leads to significant gaps in data that do not accurately portray the on-the-ground reality that community members experience. Our response to these numbers must be one focused on making it easier, safer, and more productive for communities targeted for hate to report hate incidents and hate crimes.  We also must work to improve the reporting of hate crimes by law enforcement agencies to the FBI. With the rise of white supremacy and increasing numbers of hate incidents at schools, workplaces, and college campuses, we must work to ensure full and complete reporting of hate crimes to appropriately target hate prevention efforts.”

“The Stop Hate Project was launched in March 2017 to support local organizations and leaders combating the growing number of hate crimes and hate incidents that have been occurring across the country,” said Becky Monroe, director of the Stop Hate Project. “We have released resources to strengthen the capacity of community leaders, law enforcement, and organizations around the country to combat hate. Individuals and organizations that have experienced hate may call our resource and reporting hotline at 1-844-9-NO-HATE or visit our resource website at www.8449nohate.org to obtain free resources including plain language summaries of state and federal hate crimes laws, and additional community resources.”

The Stop Hate Project’s focus on community-driven lawyering means resources and materials are directly responsive to issues that community organizations and leaders are addressing, allowing for greater impact.

Full report: Hate Crime Statistics, 2016

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