Human Rights Organizations Troubled by Dramatic Rise in Hate Crimes Following September 11 |
| Friday, Nov. 1, 2002 WASHINGTON � The FBI's most recent publication "Crime in the United States, 2001" shows that while the number of overall crimes have increased only slightly, hate crimes have increased dramatically. The report shows that the number of crimes reported to the FBI in 2001 increased by 2.1 percent, but reported hate crimes increased 20.6 percent, from 8,063 in 2000 to 9,726 in 2001. This suggests a backlash against minorities following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Human Rights Campaign asserted today. "Hate crimes represent the most un-American of values and they are antithetical to everything this nation stands for," said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "While most Americans rallied together after September 11, the tragedy unfortunately also brought out the worst in some people. The steep rise in hate crimes is unacceptable and we must work to create a more tolerant nation that celebrates diversity and appreciates differences in people." In 2001, 1,663 more hate crime incidents were reported than in 2000. Racial bias again represented the largest percentage of bias-motivated incidents, 44.9 percent, followed by ethnic/national origin bias, 21.6 percent, religious bias, 18.8 percent, sexual orientation bias, 14.3 percent, and disability bias, 0.3 percent. The report shows a rise in hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Reported hate incidents based on sexual orientation have increased from 1,299 incidents in 2000, to 1,392 in 2001, a 7.2 percent increase. And reported hate crimes have more than tripled since the FBI began keeping statistics in 1996. The number of law enforcement agencies participating in reporting hate crimes to the FBI in 2001 increased slightly from 11,690 to 11,897. "The numbers are even more troubling when you consider that hate crimes are underreported," said Stachelberg. "The rise in hate crimes highlights why we need to pass federal legislation to combat this disturbing trend." The Every Victim Counts Campaign, a project of Southern Poverty Law Center believes that actual hate crime incidents are likely to be closer to 50,000 a year. "The increase number of reported hate crime incidents is just a drop in the bucket of what is actually going on," said Beginning the Journey Program Director and Founder, Nicholas Linindoll. "Hopefully, this will lead to increased awareness and in turn, positive change." This article contains major portions from a Human Rights Campaign News Release. To read the original version, go to http://www.hrc.org/newsreleases/2002/021101fbistats.asp Download the FBI Crime Statistic report at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_01/01crime2.pdf Find out more about Southern Poverty Law Center's Every Victim Counts Campaign at http://www.tolerance.org/evc/index.html Beginning the Journey seeks to expose the effects of hate and to cultivate an understanding and appreciation for human diversity by offering educational presentations to a variety of organizations. You can contact Beginning the Journey at PO Box 131, Harrison, Michigan 48625, by phone at 989-387-6697, by e-mail at [email protected], or online at http://beginningthejourney.cjb.net |