United States of America

The United States regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. The United States publishes hate crime data annually.

The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics conducts a regular National Crime Victimization Survey, with data covering the period from 2005 to 2020. In 2020, the Department of Justice issued a comprehensive "Law Enforcement Roundtable Report on Hate Crimes", setting forth key recommendations and action steps to combat hate crime.

Following a 2021 review by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), hate crimes were included in the top-level category of priorities (Band 1 National Threat Priority), resulting in an increase in resources allocated to tackle hate crime. By collaborating with the national Hate Crime Coalition, the FBI consults closely with civil society organizations (CSOs), including to develop and update the FBI Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Manual. During an update of the Guidelines, the Department of Justice invited comments from the public and held two virtual consultations with CSOs.

SELECT YEAR

OFFICIAL DATA

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2021	Not available	Not available	Not available
2020	11,129	-	-
2019	8,559	-	-
2018	8,496	27	20
2017	8,437	Not available	Not available
2016	7,321	Not available	Not available
2015	6,885	Not available	Not available
2014	6385	Not available	Not available
2013	6933	22	Not available
2012	6718	Not available	Not available
2011	7254	Not available	Not available
2010	7699	Not available	Not available
2009	7789	Not available	Not available

About 2015 Data

The USA reports data by incidents, offenses, victims and ‘known’ offenders. The FBI reports the overall total using the ‘offenses’ label, which are the figures included. Only offenses with one recorded bias are shown in the breakdown below.

Download official data

National developments

The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) approved the collection of hate crime data based on bias against Arabs. Law enforcement agencies began reporting on the following additional religious bias types: anti-Buddhist, anti-Eastern Orthodox (such as Greek, Ukrainian or Russian orthodox churches), anti-Hindu, anti-Jehovah’s Witness, anti-Mormon, bias against other Christian groups, and anti-Sikh. Furthermore, the Hate Crime Statistics Program began collecting race and ethnicity bias types under the combined category Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry, which includes the added type of bias against Arabs.

The Federal Webinars on Church Security were launched in early 2015: the initiative promotes inter-agency collaboration and addresses both prevention and effective responses to hate crimes. The initiative includes representatives from the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Education. Government representatives also met with civil society representatives. As a response to the vulnerability felt by African American churches and other churches and places of worship in the wake of the Charleston shootings, the webinar addressed a range of issues for ensuring the security of places of worship, including developing emergency operations plans, advance security measures, services offered by the DHS, training materials for staff and other resources.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that the United States has not reported information on sentenced hate crime cases to ODIHR.

Incidents reported by civil society, international organizations and the Holy See

Download incident data

Reports

Anti-Semitic hate crime

The Ephesus Initiative and the Kantor Center reported a robbery. The Ephesus Initiative further reported six physical assaults targeting men visibly identifiable as Jewish; a robbery; two arson attacks one against a synagogue and another against several houses, two incidents of damage to property; the desecration of a grave; and 27 incidents of vandalism, most of which involved graffiti targeting synagogues or Jewish property.

Anti-Muslim hate crime

The Ephesus Initiative, the Bridge Initiative and the ORIW reported the attempted murder of a Muslim taxi driver. The Ephesus Initiative and the Bridge Initiative also reported a physical assault that caused serious injury to a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf. The Ephesus Initiative further reported three incidents of threats, five arson attacks, eight cases of vandalism against mosques, and three incidents of the desecration of mosques. The ORIW also reported an additional physical assault against a group of Muslim men praying in a park.

Hate crime against Christians and members of other religions

The Ephesus Initiative reported four arson attacks; eight incidents of damage to property; 24 incidents of vandalism, most of which involved graffiti; and five incidents of the desecration of graves.

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

The Bridge Initiative reported the murder of an Iranian-American man and eight physical assaults, including two that caused serious injuries and one that involved the use of a weapon. The victims of these assaults included Sikhs, people speaking languages other than English in public, and people of Asian and Middle Eastern background. The Bridge Initiative also reported three incidents of vandalism and two incidents of graffiti targeting foreigners.

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

Following its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the United States authorities made the commitment to examine and respond to recommendations to continue to work towards ensuring that all hate crimes are effectively investigated and prosecuted, and to engage better with communities at risk of being victims of hate crimes.