New FBI Report Indicates Slight Decrease in Hate Crimes, Though Reporting Numbers Fall

An annual report recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed a 7 percent decrease compared to last year’s figures in the number of hate crimes reported by local law enforcement partners in 2012.

The report, “Hate Crime Statistics, 2012,” found that of the 5,790 single-bias incidents reported in 2012, 48.3 percent were motivated by race, 19.6 percent were motivated by sexual orientation, 19.0 percent by religion, 11.5 percent by ethnicity or national origin, and 1.6 percent by disability.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed its frustration with what they say is a flawed edition of the report, noting that more than a quarter of law enforcement agencies did not provide the FBI with their hate crime statistics. Only 13,022 law enforcement agencies (out of about 18,000) reported in 2012 compared to approximately 14,500 last year.

“Due to a deeply disturbing trend of under-reporting and under-participation by law enforcement agencies, including more than a dozen of the largest agencies in the United States, the 2012 Hate Crime Statistics Act report is seriously flawed,”said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL’s national director. “This inadequate reporting demands a response from federal, state, and local officials, as well as civil rights and police organizations.”