According to new FBI statistics, the number of hate crimes increased by 35 percent in 2021. There was also a big increase in hate crimes that were directed against people based on their sexual orientation.
In 2021, the FBI recorded 10,840 hate crimes, whereas in 2020 there had been a total of 8,052 crimes recorded.
The annual report tracks hate crime incidents based on the records submitted by law enforcement agencies across the nation. However, the original 2021 report issued by the FBI in December had initially shown a decline in hate crimes. It was later revealed that the original report had been compiled with incomplete data.
The supplemental report published now by the FBI provides additional data collected by law enforcement, and it presents a different picture regarding hate crimes in the U.S.
In 2021, members of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities were the second most likely to be attacked, while anti-LGB hate crimes also grew at a faster rate than any other hate crime against other groups from 2020 to 2021.
The FBI records also make a distinction between crimes motivated by someone’s sexual orientation and those motivated by someone’s gender identity. In 2021 there were 1,707 anti-LGBT hate crimes, marking a 54 percent increase from 2020 when there had been 1,110 recorded incidents.
Attacks against transgender and gender non-conforming people also increased by 29 percent in 2021, with 342 incidents reported within that year. In 2020 there had been 266 recorded incidents.
