FBI Report Indicates 17 Percent Rise in Hate Crimes

According to a recently released report from the FBI, reported hate crimes in the United States rose 17% over last year, with about 5,000 of the hate crimes reported categorized as crimes against persons, such as intimidation or assault.

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According to a recently released report from the FBI, reported hate crimes in the United States rose 17% over last year, with about 5,000 of the hate crimes reported categorized as crimes against persons, such as intimidation or assault. About 3,000 were considered crimes against property, such as vandalism, robbery, or burglary. Some hate crime incidents are classified as both crimes against persons and crimes against property.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program's annual Hate Crime Statistics report released last week indicated that law enforcement agencies reported 7,175 hate crimes to UCR in 2017, compared to 6,121 in 2016.

"Although the numbers increased last year, so did the number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate crime data—with approximately 1,000 additional agencies contributing information," the report said.

"The FBI is working with law enforcement partners across the country to encourage reporting of hate crime statistics," the agency said in a statement. "Next year, FBI personnel will provide training for law enforcement officers on how to identify bias-motivated incidents and report that data to the FBI’s UCR Program."

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