Hate crimes have become more prevalent in the past five years, according to statistics compiled from the FBI and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
The FBI’s 2019 Hate Crime Statistics marked last year as the deadliest so far, with the total number of hate crimes on the rise for the fourth time in five years despite decreased participation by law enforcement agencies submitting information to the bureau.
The FBI statistics reveal 7,103 single-bias incidents involving 8,552 victims, almost 60 percent of those targeted belonging to perceived race, ethnicity and ancestry groups.
In the District, the police department maintains statistics on hate crime. In 2015, the department reported 66 hate crimes. However, in 2019, 203 hate crimes received notation by the department. In both 2018 and 2019, the department reported over 200 hate crimes.