For the second year in a row, the 2016 annual Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) data reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday has shown an increase in anti-Semitism in America.
In general, the FBI found hate crimes rose nearly five percent last year, with a total of 6,121 reported hate crimes, compared to 5,850 reported in 2015.
Religion-based hate crimes were the second-most numerous after race-based hate crimes. Of those, 53 percent were directed against Jews.
But there’s a problem with these statistics: according to the FBI, nearly 90 cities with more than 100,000 residents either altogether ignored the FBI request for 2016 hate crime data, or affirmatively reported zero hate crimes.
However, to increase understanding of the trends taking place, ADL announced a first-of-its-kind, interactive hate crime map that displays available FBI hate crime data from 2004-2016 for cities with more than 100,000 residents. It gives users the ability to navigate hate crimes data and laws at the national, statewide and city level, and breaks out information on crimes against a broad spectrum of targeted populations.
The comprehensive map shows which large cities may have underreported hate crimes in their city – or not reported at all. And it contains an interactive chart of hate crime laws in America, sharing which groups are included in state hate crime laws, as well as which states are missing laws protecting specific populations.
“There’s a dangerous disconnect between the rising problem of hate crimes and the lack of credible data being reported,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.
“Police departments that do not report credible data to the FBI risk sending the message that this is not a priority issue for them,” he said.
The ADL reported in its Mid-Year Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents nearly 1,300 anti-Semitic incidents took place in the first nine months of this year in the United States. Among those were 12 physical assaults and 584 incidents of vandalism, including 52 against Jewish institutions.