DiNapoli: Hate crimes up 69% since 2019, with religion the most common motivation

ALBANY — The number of hate crimes reported statewide has surged over the last five years with religion as the most common bias motivation, according to a report issued Wednesday.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s report found hate crimes numbered 644 in 2019, then dipped to 505 in 2020, which might be an underreported total during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the number jumped to 1,089 in 2023.

That means it grew 69% since 2019 and more than doubled from 2020.

Of the 1,089, about half — 543 — involved bias involving religion. The bulk, 477, were classified as anti-Jewish incidents, DiNapoli reported.

The next leading categories were incidents against African Americans (183) and gay males (130).

Experts contacted by Newsday cautioned that hate crime numbers tend to show steady growth in part because they were so underreported in years past — and might still be — and because not all police agencies may treat them the same.

Hate crimes are offenses deemed to be motivated by a bias or belief about a victim’s race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other factors. They represent a small but growing percentage of the hundreds of thousands of crimes recorded annually in New York.

Also the number of hate crimes grew in 2023 while many other types of crime declined after a pandemic spike, according to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.

A University of Chicago expert cautioned against making strong conclusions about hate crime trends because the category is still fairly new. Also,  hate crimes largely were underreported in the past and probably remain underreported, which might skew any growth trends, he added.

"I think we do not measure hate crimes well. We’re getting better at measuring and as we do the numbers go up," said John Roman, who studies crime trends at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. "It’s impossible to know if the numbers are going up because there are more hate crimes or are they going up because we’re capturing more hate crimes. And we’re so far behind on this."

"Hate crimes, more than any other crimes, tend to be anecdotal. The state, for a long time, has had difficulty getting accurate reporting," said Jim Mulvaney, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former state deputy commissioner for human rights.

Mulvaney said the reporting of hate crimes tended to rise after high-profile incidents or public awareness campaigns. Further, not all protected classes are equally attuned to being aware of incidents and interacting with police to report them.

To be sure, the numbers being reported certainly are increasing, according to DiNapoli.

Especially when you compare 2023 with 2018.

In 2018, there were 253 reported anti-Jewish crimes. In 2023, 477. Experts said it is likely the numbers increased after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel and the start of the war in Gaza, but the report didn't touch on it.

In fact, all categories showed increases, even when the overall numbers were small:

• Anti-Black hate crimes went from 91 in 2018 to 183 in 2023.
• Anti-gay-male hate crimes went from 54 to 130.
• Anti-Islamic went from 18 to 37.
• Anti-transgender went from 10 to 24.

Numbers for Long Island also showed increases.

Nassau County went from 34 reported incidents in 2019 to 75 in 2023.

Suffolk County went from 20 in 2019 to 31 in 2023. 

The report didn’t highlight category breakdowns for 2020. And the comptroller’s office stressed that statistics for that year, because of a possible lack of reporting, might not reflect the actual number of incidents because and "may not be useful for year-to-year comparisons or identifying trends."

In addition, the report found assaults rising faster than property crimes when it comes to hate crimes.

Crimes against individuals and property both increased since 2018. But whereas assaults accounted for 39% of hate crimes in 2018, they covered nearly 50% in 2022. Breakdowns for this category in 2023 weren’t immediately available.

DiNapoli said the report should heighten efforts to address and reduce hate crimes.

"Fighting hatred and bigotry demands that we communicate with, respect and accept our neighbors," the comptroller said in a statement. "It requires our spiritual, political, community and business leaders to take active roles in denouncing hate, investing in prevention and protection efforts, and increasing education that celebrates the value of New York’s diversity."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy