Hate Crimes Data Overview: Challenges & Shortcomings

Understanding the gaps in anti-Asian hate crime reporting and the systemic barriers that prevent accurate data collection

Anti-Asian discrimination and hate incidents are underreported.

There are barriers to reporting and there are additional challenges to categorizing the incidents that are reported.

1

First

Victims often do not report their experiences and Asian American community members are even less likely to report incidents or to seek help due to language barriers, cultural stigma, lack of awareness, fear of government, and mistrust of law enforcement.

2

Second

The majority of incidents of hate and discrimination do not meet the legal criteria to be categorized as crimes or hate crimes; and even those that meet the criteria do not always get reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) hate crime statistics by local authorities.

Community reporting tools were developed as safe spaces for community members to report hate incidents in their own language. They also provide opportunities to connect community members who report incidents to resources.

Such reporting tools also provide data to better understand the extent and range of hate and discriminatory actions that occur and the data needed to advocate for solutions and policies.

Federal Legislation

Hate Crimes Statistics Act

1990

As mandated by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, the FBI releases an annual hate crime statistics report. The data are compiled from voluntary reports from local, state, and federal law enforcement organizations. The reports include the number of hate crimes committed by type of crime and victim and perpetrator demographics.

The FBI defines hate crime as a committed criminal offense motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's biases against:

Race
Religion
Ethnicity
Gender
Gender Identity
Disability
Sexual Orientation

Annual FBI Report

Comprehensive hate crime statistics compiled from voluntary law enforcement reports nationwide

Reporting Type Voluntary
Data Sources Local, State, Federal
Update Frequency Annual

The Evidence Speaks

Key findings from research and testimony that reveal the true scope of the problem

"Anti-Asian hate crime reported to the police in 16 of America's largest cities and counties rose 164% in the first quarter of 2021 in comparison to the first quarter of 2020."
Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism
California State University, San Bernardino
"Some jurisdictions fail to report hate crime statistics, while others claim there are no hate crimes in their community."
Christopher Wray
FBI Director
November 2023 Congressional hearing

Hate Crime Laws and Data Collection

Explore comprehensive hate crime data and trends through our interactive PowerBI dashboard

Hate Crime Reporting Dashboard

Interactive charts and data visualizations showing hate crime trends, geographic distribution, and reporting patterns across different jurisdictions.

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Geographic View

Explore data by state

Interactive Data

Filter by hate crime laws and data collection requirements

Additional Details

Click the info icon in the dashboard for more information

17 states

do not require reporting hate crimes to the FBI

estimate of hate crimes per year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics

250,000+
8,000

FBI-reported hate crime offenses in 2020

Arkansas, Wyoming, and South Carolina

have no hate crime laws

Agency Reporting Statistics

Explore the number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate crime data across different states and years

Agency Reporting Dashboard

Interactive data showing the number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate crime data to the FBI, with filtering capabilities by state and year.

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Geographic View

Toggle by state to see reporting rates

Year Filter

Toggle by year to see trends over time

Reporting Trends of Law Enforcement Agencies

Key statistics on law enforcement agency reporting rates and highlights

2020
0%

of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data

The most recent FBI report did not contain data on the number of agencies submitting reports. This data is from the most recent report which did provide agency reporting data.
2021
0%

of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data

2022
0%

of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data

Florida has the lowest percentage of reporting agencies

0%

(230 out of 758)

Pennsylvania had the highest percentage drop of reporting from 2021 to 2022

0%

(74% to 31%)

Only six states had a 0% reporting rate

Connecticut
Delaware
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
Vermont

Understanding Hate Crime Categories

The FBI tracks specific types of offenses and locations to provide comprehensive hate crime data

Types of Offenses

Criminal Offenses Tracked

Theft & Larceny

Property crimes motivated by bias

Intimidation

Threats and harassment

Destruction of Property

Vandalism and property damage

Murder & Manslaughter

Fatal violence motivated by hate

And More

Assault, arson, and other crimes

Offense Locations

Where Incidents Occur

Public Areas

Highways, streets, parks, and sidewalks

Private Residences

Homes and private properties

Public Buildings

Schools, government buildings, and institutions

Online

Digital platforms and social media

And More

Transportation, businesses, and other locations

Anti Asian American Hate Crime Trends

Explore FBI-reported hate crime data with anti-Asian American bias from 2019-2022

FBI Hate Crime Data (2019-2024)

This dashboard shows hate crimes with anti-Asian American bias reported to the FBI. Data includes both raw numbers and rates per 100,000 Asian Americans by state for comparison.

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State-by-State Data

Compare anti-Asian hate crime rates across states

Yearly Trends

Track changes from 2019-2022

Additional Details

Click the info icon in the dashboard for more information

Nearly 900 anti-Asian bias incidents were reported in the FBI hate crime reports between 2019-2021, making up about 8% of the total incidents of anti-Asian incidents and 3% of total incidents.

nearly 900

anti-Asian bias incidents (2019-2021)

≈ 8%

total anti-Asian incidents (all time)

Over 61% of anti-NHPI bias incidents were reported between 2019-2021, primarily driven by incidents committed against NHPI community members in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington states. There were over 80 incidents reported during 2019-2021.

over 80

anti-NHPI bias incidents (2019-2021)

≈ 61%

total anti-NHPI incidents (all time)

Source: FBI hate crime reports 2019-2021

Making Data Comparable Across States

Understanding why raw numbers don't tell the full story

If California has an Asian American population of over 7 million, how can anti-Asian hate crimes be compared to a state like Wyoming, with an Asian American population just fewer than 10,000?

To make the data comparable from state to state, we look at the rate of anti-Asian hate crimes per 100,000 Asian Americans in each state.

California
7,000,000+
Asian American Population
Wyoming
~10,000
Asian American Population

Population vs. Hate Crime Correlation

Triangulate between Asian American population percentage and hate crime rates per 100,000 across all states

Interactive Scatterplot Dashboard

Interactive scatterplot showing the relationship between Asian American population percentage and hate crime rates per 100,000 for each state.

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Dual-Axis Analysis

Plot hate crimes per 100k against Asian American population percentage

Multiple View Options

Toggle between scatterplot, scatter+table, and map views

Additional Details

Click the info icon in the dashboard for more information on details, selected averages, and state-by-state data

Highest Anti-Asian Bias Offenses

States with the highest rates of anti-Asian hate crimes per 100,000 Asian Americans

1

Vermont

0
per 100k
100% - Highest rate
2

West Virginia

0
per 100k
48% of highest rate
3

New Jersey

0
per 100k
48% of highest rate
4

National Average (2019-2024)

0
per 100k
15% of highest rate
0
States

track above average for anti-Asian hate crimes per 100,000 people

This represents 28% of all states exceeding the national baseline

States above average 14/50

Data Context

Rates are calculated per 100,000 Asian Americans to ensure fair comparison across states with varying population sizes.

Source: FBI hate crime reports