WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday released its annual Hate Crime Statistics report, revealing that more than 20 percent of hate crime offenses in 2013 were due to bias based on sexual orientation.
The total number of reported hate crimes last year was down slightly when compared to 2012 figures — 5,928 in 2013 versus the 2012 figure of 6,573.
Among the report’s findings for 2013:
- Of the 5,928 incidents reported, six were multiple-bias hate crime incidents involving 12 victims.
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Of the 5,922 single bias incidents reported, the top three bias categories were race (48.5 percent), sexual orientation (20.8 percent), and religion (17.4 percent).
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Of the reported 3,407 single-bias hate crime offenses that were racially motivated, 66.4 were motivated by anti-black or African-American bias, and 21.4 percent stemmed from anti-white bias.
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60.6 percent of the reported 1,402 hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation were classified as anti-gay (male) bias.
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Law enforcement agencies identified 5,814 known offenders in the 5,928 bias-motivated incidents. Of these offenders, 52.4 percent were white and 24.3 percent were black or African-American.
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Of the 6,933 hate crime offenses reported in 2013, 63.9 percent were crimes against persons (i.e., intimidation, assaults, rapes, murders), while 35 percent were property crimes (mostly acts of destruction/damage/vandalism). The rest were considered crimes against society (like drug offenses or prostitution).
