This report presents data and information on hate crimes and hate incidents in Kentucky for 2005.
In an effort to provide improved documentation of the incidence of hate crime, this report includes official Federal data reported in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and State-level data reported by the Kentucky State Police. It also includes anecdotal information from local newspapers across the State, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Anti-Defamation League. The UCR Program reported 44 hate-crime incidents in 2005 in Kentucky, down from 71 incidents reported in 2004. In 2005, race was the most common motivation for hate crimes reported to the Kentucky State Police (63.8 percent). The second most common hate-crime motivation was ethnicity, constituting 19.1 percent of incidents. In 2005, nearly half of all hate crimes in Kentucky occurred in a residence/home. Just over three-fourths (76.6 percent) of the hate crimes reported to the State Police were for intimidation and destruction/damage/vandalism. The majority of hate crime victims in 2005 were individuals (80.8 percent) in contrast to organizations. In 2005, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights handled 3,200 inquiries by individuals in Kentucky who had possibly been victims of discrimination. In the past decade, the number of discrimination complaints considered by the Commission has almost tripled. The majority of complaints closed have been found to have no probable cause; the next most common disposition is a conciliation agreement. The twenty-six conciliation agreements reached in 2005 resulted in $57,000 in compensation for complainants. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported three hate incidents in Kentucky in 2005; and the Anti-Defamation League reported four extremist events in 2005 in Kentucky. One section of the report reviews the history and limitations of hate crime data collection. 15 tables, 2 figures, 31 references, and appended State and Federal hate crime statutes, State hate crime penalty provisions, and a listing of known hate and patriot groups in Kentucky