Hate crimes against Asians and Blacks rise sharply in the U.S., FBI says
The U.S. saw the number of hate crimes rise to the highest level in over a decade, mostly due to a spike in assaults targeting Black and Asian victims, the FBI said on Monday.
The FBI revealed the data that was submitted by more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. In the 2020 data 7,759 hate crimes were reported nationwide, marking a 6% increase from 2019, and the highest number since 2008.
In particular race groups, crimes targeted toward Black individuals rose from 1,930 to 2,755. Among Asians, the number increased from 158 in 2019 to 274.
A total of 7,426 crimes reported were targeted toward people with the rest of the incidents being related to property. Of that data set, 53.4% of those crimes were intimidation, 27.6% for simple assault, and 18.1% were for aggravated assault. Additionally, 22 reported hate crimes were murders, and there were also 19 rapes, according to Reuters.
“Preventing and responding to hate crimes and hate incidents is one of the Justice Department’s highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. “The FBI Hate Crime Statistics for 2020 demonstrates the urgent need for a comprehensive response.”
This year, many of the reported hate crimes thus far have been directed toward Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. The issue became so dire in major cities nationwide, that the U.S. Senate passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan crime bill to combat the growing violence against Asian-Americans.
