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New FBI report showing increase in hate crimes in Georgia, draws criticism from anti-hate groups

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Published  December 12, 2022 11:36pm EST
Georgia
FOX 5 Atlanta

Hate crimes are on the rise in Georgia

A new FBI report release on Monday shows hate crimes are on the ride in Georgia. The report has come under criticism from some anti-hate groups questioning the accuracy of the national data which shoed a decline over all in hate crimes.

In Georgia, hate crimes are trending upward, according to newly released crime statistics from the FBI for the year 2021. A report made public on Monday showed a 22 percent jump in the number of hate crimes reported in the Peach State— from 195 in 2020 to 238 in 2021.

"Within Georgia we saw that the victims in the categories of the hate crimes reflected what we saw nationally and included crimes against people based on their race, sexual orientation and religion were the top three," FBI Atlanta Supervisory Special Agent Marc Benjamin said.

It’s a troubling trend for anti-hate advocates like Anti-Defamation League Southeast Regional Director Eytan Davidson.

"The hate crime numbers that we’re seeing today for Georgia are shocking but they’re not surprising," he said.

Rachel Carroll-Rivas with the Southern Poverty Law Center said even more troubling—there was a drop in the number of agencies reporting this year.

"Unfortunately we find this year’s data—woefully inaccurate and just simply cannot be trusted," the SPLC senior researcher stated.

The data came from about 12,000 of the 18,000 law enforcement groups nationwide. It’s the largest dip in reporting in two decades according to Davidson.

"We saw a sharp 22 percent decrease in the number of agencies that participating in reporting."

FBI officials said the reason for the decline in participation—a switch to a new system that about a third of law enforcement agencies nationwide haven’t yet transitioned to using.

Leaders from both organizations say the drop could have played a role in the decreased number of hate crimes reflected in national data for 2021, and in this case, accuracy is of the utmost importance.

"Data drive policy and without having a complete picture of the problem, with all jurisdiction agencies reporting we can’t even begin to address," Davidson explained.

A statement from the FBI reads-in part: "As more agencies transition to the NIBRS data collection with continued support from the Justice Department, hate crime statistics in coming years will provide a richer and more complete picture of hate crimes nationwide."