FBI: Hate crime incidents down, victim numbers up

WASHINGTON (AP) - The bureau says that out of some 4,000 victims of racial bias, seven in 10 were victims because of prejudice against blacks...

TheGrio Staff

Nov 22, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI says the number of hate crime incidents went down in 2009 compared to the previous year, while the number of victims — which include businesses and institutions as well as people — went up.

The bureau says that out of some 4,000 victims of racial bias, seven in 10 were victims because of prejudice against blacks.

Out of nearly 1,600 victims of anti-religious bias, about the same proportion — seven of 10 — stemmed from anti-Jewish bias.

The year-to-year figures are not an exact comparison. The number of law enforcement agencies providing data to the FBI on hate crime went up last year compared to 2008.