7,400+ Hate Crimes in 2003

On Monday, the FBI reported the number of hate crimes occurring last year in 11,900 jurisdictions. The most common hate crimes committed were racial. Black Americans were targeted over two times as often as all other racial groups put together. The highest religious group targeted was by far Jews, with Anti-Islamic crimes coming in second. Anti-Islamic crimes remained around the same levels as in 2002, in comparison to 2001 when there was a large jump in the number of hate crimes occurring because of 9/11. Another group target of hate crimes was due to sexual orientation, with gay males being the largest targeted group. Two thirds of all hate crimes involved destruction of property, intimidation, and vandalization. Other crimes included murders, burglaries, arson, theft, and assaults.