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.
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.
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.
Hate Crimes Statistics Act
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:
Annual FBI Report
Comprehensive hate crime statistics compiled from voluntary law enforcement reports nationwide
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."
"Some jurisdictions fail to report hate crime statistics, while others claim there are no hate crimes in their community."
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
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
of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data
of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data
of law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data
Florida has the lowest percentage of reporting agencies
(230 out of 758)
Pennsylvania had the highest percentage drop of reporting from 2021 to 2022
(74% to 31%)
Only six states had a 0% reporting rate
Understanding Hate Crime Categories
The FBI tracks specific types of offenses and locations to provide comprehensive hate crime data
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
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.
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
Vermont
West Virginia
New Jersey
National Average (2019-2024)
track above average for anti-Asian hate crimes per 100,000 people
This represents 28% of all states exceeding the national baseline
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