MEDIA ADVISORY

BJS TO RELEASE REPORTS ON HATE CRIME

      WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics will issue a press release and reports that present statistics on hate crime victimization and hate crime recorded by law enforcement and describe testing designed to improve the measurement of hate crime victimization.  These reports are EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021, 10 A.M. ET.

      Hate Crime Victimization, 2005–2019 presents National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data on hate crime victimizations from 2005 to 2019.  Hate crimes in the NCVS include violent and property crimes that the victim perceived to be motivated by bias against the victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religion.  It includes crimes reported and not reported to police.  The report examines the number of hate crimes over time, reporting to police and reasons hate crimes were not reported, characteristics of hate crimes, perceived bias motivations for these hate crimes and demographic characteristics of victims and offenders.

      Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement, 2010–2019 presents data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Hate Crime Statistics Program (HCSP) on hate crime incidents and victims from 2010 to 2019.  The HCSP, which began in 1990, collects hate crime data regarding criminal offenses motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race or ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.  The HCSP includes crimes reported to police that, after investigation, reveal sufficient evidence to support being recorded as hate crimes.  The report examines incidents and victims of hate crime recorded by law enforcement, trends over time in total hate crimes and hate crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s race, ethnicity or ancestry.

      Enhancing the Measurement of Hate Crime in the NCVS:  Developing and Testing Improvements to the Survey Questions was produced by RTI International for BJS under award number 2020-85-CX-K017.  It describes testing efforts designed to improve the measurement of hate crime in the NCVS as part of the NCVS Instrument Redesign Research and Development Program.  This report describes the methodology and findings from a small-scale quantitative and qualitative online test of new and revised NCVS hate crime questions.  The testing was informed by a review and assessment of state and federal hate crime laws compared to the BJS definition and by analyses of hate crime data and interview narratives derived from the current NCVS hate crime questions.

      WHAT:  Press release and report on Hate Crime Victimization, 2005–2019
                    (NCJ 300954) by BJS Statisticians Grace Kena and Alexandra Thompson

                    Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement, 2010–2019 (NCJ 301554
                    by BJS Statistician Erica Smith

                    Enhancing the Measurement of Hate Crime in the
                    NCVS: Developing and Testing Improvements to the Survey Questions
                    (NCJ 301033) (third-party report)
                    by Lynn Langton, Sarah Cook, Chris Krebs, Yuli Patrick Hsieh and
                    Jerry Timbrook, RTI International; and BJS Statisticians Grace Kena,
                    Heather Brotsos and Barbara A. Oudekerk (former)

      WHEN:  Monday, September 13, 2021, 10 a.m. ET

      WHERE:  bjs.ojp.gov

      MEDIA COORDINATING INSTRUCTIONS:  To access the embargoed press release and the full reports now available on the BJS website, send an email to [email protected].  You must type HATE CRIME in the subject line to receive instructions to access the embargoed press release and the full reports.  Following publication, the reports and press release will be available on the BJS website at bjs.ojp.gov.

      The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing and disseminating reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice in the United States.  Doris J. James is the acting director.

      The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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OFFICE:  bjs.ojp.gov
CONTACT:  Tannyr Watkins at 202-532-3923 or [email protected]