Hate
Crime Statistics, 1999 (pdf)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
today released its final 1999 hate crime data in the annual publication,
Hate Crime Statistics. According to the figures, 12,122 law enforcement
agencies in 48 states and the District of Columbia reported a
total of 7,876 bias-motivated criminal incidents to the Bureau's
Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Of the 7,876 incidents, racial
bias motivated 4,295; religious bias was associated with 1,411;
sexual-orientation bias accounted for 1,317; ethnicity/national
origin bias was the cause of 829; disability bias was connected
with 19; and the remaining 5 incidents were the result of multiple
biases.
Reported hate crime incidents
involved 9,301 offenses (some incidents may include more than
one offense), 66.5 percent of which were classified as crimes
against persons. Intimidation, the most frequently reported hate
crime against persons, was also the most frequently reported
hate crime of all offenses measured, accounting for 35.1 percent
of the total. In addition, destruction/damage/vandalism, the
most frequently reported crime against property, accounted for
28.5 percent of the total. Simple assault and aggravated assault,
both crimes against persons, comprised 19.0 percent and 12.0
percent, respectively, of all reported offenses.
Seventeen persons were murdered
in incidents motivated by hate. Racial bias motivated 9 of the
murders, and sexual-orientation bias and ethnicity/national origin
bias accounted for 3 deaths each. Two murders were motivated
by religious bias.
Of the 9,802 reported hate crime
victims, 82.8 percent were individuals. Distribution figures
for the remaining victim types were other/unknown/multiple, 6.2
percent; society/public, 3.6 percent; business/financial institution,
3.2 percent; religious organization, 2.2 percent; and government,
1.9 percent. By bias motivation, victims of racial bias accounted
for 56.3 percent of all hate crime victims in 1999. Victims of
religious bias comprised 16.5 percent of the victim total; victims
of sexual-orientation bias, 16.0 percent; victims of ethnicity/national
origin bias, 10.9 percent; and victims of disability bias, 0.23
percent. Victims of multiple biases accounted for the remainder
of the total.
In 1999, the highest percent
of reported hate crime incidents, 28.7 percent, occurred in/on
residential properties. Incidents committed on highways/roads/alleys/streets
accounted for 18.5 percent, 16.2 percent took place in other/unknown
locations, and 10.2 percent occurred at schools and colleges.
The remaining 26.4 percent of incidents were widely distributed
among various locations.
Collectively, the 12,122 agencies
that participated in the Hate Crime Data Collection Program in
1999 represented nearly 233 million United States inhabitants,
or over 85 percent of the Nation's population. Though the reports
from these agencies are insufficient to allow valid national
or regional measure of the volume and types of crimes motivated
by hate, they offer perspectives on the general nature of hate
crime occurrence.
Hate Crime Statistics,
1999, can be found on the FBI's
Internet site at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.