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U.S. hate crimes
U.S. hate crimes statistics
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Some facts about hate crimes:
 | Whereas ordinary crimes are generally committed by people with whom the victims are familiar, hate crimes and acts of violence are overwhelmingly committed by strangers" 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most perpetrators of hate crimes are under the age of 20. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The FBI has reported on U.S. hate crimes during 1995 to 2005:
2,3
|
| Basis of crime | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Total hate/bias crimes | 9,562 | 9,730 | 7,462 | 7,489 | 7,649 |
| Race | 54% | 45% | 49% | 51% | 53% |
| Religion | 16% | 19% | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Sexual orientation | 16% | 14% | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| Ethnicity / National origin | 12% | 22% | 15% | 14% | 13% |
| Disability | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Multiple bases | 0.08% | 0.09% | 0.04% | 0.05% | 0.09% |
| Basis of crime | 2005 |
| Total hate/bias crimes | 7,163 |
| Race | 56% |
| Religion | 15.7% |
| Sexual orientation | 14% |
| Ethnicity / National origin | 13.7% |
| Disability | 0.6% |
| Multiple bases | 0.04% |
| The FBI reports on hate-crime statistics by year at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm | ||||||
| The percentage of hate crimes based on:
| ||||||
| Most hate crime incidents are probably not reported to the police. This may well be particularly the case for assaults on homosexuals. Victims of gay bashing often do not report the crime because they are still "in the closet." Some police forces do not transfer their hate crime statistics to the FBI. | ||||||
| The Southern Poverty Law Center said that attacks against gays tend to be more severe than those against other minority groups. They recorded 21 gays and lesbians killed in 1996 because of their sexual orientation. 4 | ||||||
| "Most anti-gay hate crime perpetrators perceive gay bashing to be socially sanctioned and, therefore, acceptable behavior." 5 | ||||||
| The total annual number of hate crimes in the U.S. reported to the FBI increased during the 1990s and decreased in the 2000s. | ||||||
| PFLAG publishes a Hate Crimes Information Packet. It contains information on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, hate crimes statistics and research, etc. 6 |
What is the faith of the religious victims of hate crimes? 7
In 2005 -- the latest available FBI data -- the breakdown of religiously motivated hate crimes by religion are:
| Religion | Incidents | Total adult population in the U.S. |
Incidents per million |
| Judaism | 848 | 2.83 million | 299.5 |
| Islam | 128 | 1.10 | 116.4 |
| Christian | 115 | 159.0 | 0.7 |
| Other religions | 93 | 3.8 | 24.5 |
| Anti-multiple religions | 39 | - | - |
| Atheism, Agnosticism, etc | 4 | 27.5 | 0.15 |
Notes:
| The number of Muslims in the U.S. is a controversial topic. The estimate used is from ARIS data. It is a telephone survey and probably underestimates the number of Muslims. Some Muslim groups claim 6 or 7 million total membership including children. |
| There were almost equal numbers of Catholic and Protestant victims (58 vs. 57). |
| It might at first appear that Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, Secularists, Ethical Culturalists, and those not identifying with any religion may be the safest from victimization. This may be mainly because they are not easily recognized; they don't tend to wear a Star of David, cross, crucifix or hijab. |
What is the sexual orientation of the religious victims of hate crimes? 7
| Sexual orientation | Incidents | Adult population in the U.S. | Incidents per million |
| Gays | 621 | ||
| Lesbians | 155 | ||
| Homosexual | 195 | ||
| Total homosexual | 971 | 10.9 million | 89.1 |
| Bisexual | 25 | 6.5 | 3.95 |
| Heterosexual | 21 | 200.4 | 0.10 |
Notes:
| Data based on the FBI hate crime report for 2005, and a adult population of 217.8 million. |
| It is based on the assumption that 92% of U.S. adults are heterosexual, 5% are homosexual and 3% are bisexual. Some religious and social conservatives believe that the percentage of homosexuals is much lower; many do not fully recognize bisexuals. Some gay-positive groups believe that the percentage is much higher. |
| We assume that all victims were adults -- 18 years or older. |
| Based on FBI data, a homosexual is about 850 times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime motivated by his/her sexual orientation than is a heterosexual. |
Accuracy of hate crime statistics:
A study of gay, lesbian and bisexual adults showed that 41% reported being a victim of a hate crime at sometime during their life after the age of 16. 8 Assuming that 8% of all adults are homosexual or bisexual, this would mean that about seven million of them had been victimized during their lifetime out of a total group population on the order of 17 million Americans. However, only about 1,200 hate crimes were actually recorded by police per year. One is forced to conclude that almost no hate crimes are reported to the police by gays and lesbians.
This effect appears to be true also in England. A 2003 country-wide survey showed that 38% of gays and lesbians report having been the victim of a hate crime in the preceding twelve months. 9 The population of London is approximately seven million. 10 The percentage of gays and lesbians in that city is probably about 10% -- double the rate of the country as a whole. One can estimate that 700,000 homosexuals live there. Again, assuming that the rate of hate crimes in London is similar to that in the country generally, one would expect on the order of 250,000 offences. Yet only 1,097 homophobic offences were recorded by London police during 2002. Again, it appears that very few hate crimes are reported.
Needless to say, those opposed to equal rights for gays and lesbians emphasize that the actual number of reported offenses is quite small. Those fighting for equal rights emphasize the percentage homosexual victims of hate crimes. This web site is one of the few places where you can see a comparison of the two measuring methods.
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Hate motivated crime and violence: Information for schools, communities, & families," National Education Association at: http://www.nea.org/issues/safescho/hatecrim.html
- "Uniform Crime Reports, FBI, at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
- "Crime in the United States, 2000," FBI press release, 2001-OCT-22, at: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/
- Quoted in: Sam Fulwood III, "Just what is a hate crime?," Los Angeles Times, at: http://www.seattletimes.com
- "General talking points on anti-gay hate crime," PFLAG Action Alert, at: http://www.gcym.org/
- "General talking points on anti-gay hate crime," PFLAG Action Alert, at: http://www.gcym.org/
- "Hate Crime Statistice 2005," FBI, 2006-OCT, at: http://www.fbi.gov/
- Gregory Herek,et. al., "Hate crime victimization among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults," Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(2): Pages 195-215.
- Nigel Morris, "Homophobic attacks to be 'hate crimes'," 2003-OCT-31, Independent News, UK, at: http://news.independent.co.uk/
- "London city (state capital), population," Greatest Cities™ at: http://www.greatestcities.com/
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Copyright © 1999 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-APR-12
Author: B.A. Robinson
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