Reported hate crimes plummet after agency turnout plummets

“Due to the shift to data collection solely by the NIBRS, law enforcement involvement in the submission of all crime statistics, including hate crimes, has decreased significantly from 2020 to 2021,” the department said in a statement. “Law enforcement agencies that have not made the transition to reporting crime data through the NIBRS have not been able to submit hate crime statistics to the FBI.” That meant data from some states and “several of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies” was not included in the 2021 report.

The new data collection system “collects much more detailed data for each individual criminal incident”, according to the Department of Justice – although this is only the case when agencies report such incidents. The ministry says the government has been working to make it easier for agencies to transition to NIBRS since 2016, providing more than $120 million in grants to support the transition.

Even with the decline in reporting, 2021 saw an increase in hate crimes targeting people because of their sexual orientation, from 1,110 in 2020 to 1,132 in 2021. Race and ethnicity was still the main motivation for hate crimes reported in 2021.

“The Department of Justice continues to work with law enforcement nationwide to increase reporting of hate crime statistics to the FBI to ensure we have the data necessary to accurately identify and prevent crimes. hate,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. “No one in this country should be forced to live their life in fear of being attacked because of how they look, who they love or where they worship. The ministry will continue to use all tools and resources available to us to address bias-based violence in our communities.