DC-based Muslim civil rights group responds to newly-released FBI statistics showing spike in hate crimes nationwide – highest since 2008
(WASHINGTON D.C., 8/31/2021) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Biden administration and Congress to make aid, grants, training, or other assistance to local law enforcement agencies contingent on their reporting and compiling of hate crime data.
Yesterday, the FBI released its annual hate crime statistics report. The report documented more than 7,700 hate crime incidents last year, about 450 more than were reported in 2019. 2020 saw the highest number of reported hate crime incidents since 2008. The increase comes as even fewer law enforcement agencies reported hate crimes in their jurisdictions to the FBI than in prior years. Attacks targeting Black people rose to 2,755 from 1,930 last year, and attacks on Asian-Americans rose to 271 from 164. According to the report, 62 percent of victims were targeted because of their race or ethnicity, and 13 percent were targeted because of their religion.
Because law enforcement agencies are not required to submit their data to the FBI for its annual report, the recently released statistics are likely an undercount. More than 3,000 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies did not submit their 2020 statistics to the FBI.
SEE: Hate Crime Reports in US surge to the Highest Level in 12 years, FBI says
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/us/fbi-report-hate-crimes-rose-2020/index.html
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said:
“The disturbing rise in hate crime incidents nationwide requires the attention and effort of all law enforcement agencies. The fact that the actual number of hate crime incidents is likely much higher than the statistics provided in Monday’s FBI report highlights the pressing need for communication and coordination between agencies.
“We call on Congress and the Biden administration to work together to require the federal government to condition any aid, grants, training, or other assistance to local law enforcement agencies on their agreement to submit regular and complete data regarding hate crime incidents targeting minority communities.
“This should help dramatically increase the number of law enforcement agencies that track and report data regarding these incidents, which is a crucial step toward combating the rising tide of hate and bigotry. “
Last month, CAIR released a mid-year snapshot report on anti-Muslim bias incidents, recording over 500 between January and July 2021.
SEE: CAIR Releases 2021 Mid-Year Snapshot Report on Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com