FBI REPORTS THAT HATE CRIMES CONTINUE TO RISE ACROSS THE NATION
Washington DC – The 2019 FBI Hate Crime Statistics were released, and hate crimes continue to rise across the country. Reported hate crimes against the Sikh community dropped from 60 in 2018 to 49 in 2019; however, the inconsistency in reporting leaves this number in question.
Overall the number of hate crime incidents rose to the highest levels seen in a decade, with over 51 resulting in the death of the victim. The increase in reported hate crimes comes despite the fact that, for the second straight year, the number of law enforcement agencies providing data to the FBI has declined from 16,039 in 2018 to 15,588 in 2019. Even with this drop in reporting by law enforcement agencies, hate crimes rose nationally. The inconsistency in reporting leads to the lack of credibility in these numbers and data.
“Hate crimes continue to rise throughout the nation at an unacceptable rate, particularly when we see a reduction of reporting by law enforcement agencies across the country,” said SALDEF Executive Director Kiran Kaur Gill. “We must continue efforts to train and educate law enforcement about proper documentation for hate crimes and the need for reporting, as well as ensure the removal of obstacles that prevent individuals from reporting such crimes. We at SALDEF will continue our efforts to combat this issue by working to pass the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer (No Hate) Act, continuing our work with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, and maintaining our database of hate crimes.”
The Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act (H.R.3545 was named after Khalid Jabara, and Heather Heyer, whose hate crime murders went unreported in FBI data. SALDEF has worked with other national organizations to get this act passed, that would promote more accurate hate crime data collection and assist hate crime victims and their communities.
SALDEF has also been working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI for over a year on ways to combat underreporting, including serving on the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council subcommittee. Through the subcommittee, we are pushing for stronger hate crime legislation and legislation to combat domestic terrorism.
SALDEF has been tracking hate and bias-motivated incidents against the Sikh American community for nearly two decades in an effort to quantify and provide insight into the effects of violence against the community. If you have a friend or family member who has been a victim, please immediately contact your local authorities and then please email us at info@saldef.org or call 202-393-2700.