“If we don’t have an accurate picture of the level of hate crimes in this country and where they are and what they are for, then how can we solve the problem of hate crimes?” Chu said. Less than 15% of 15,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide have submitted reports of hate crimes to the FBI. Between 2005 and 2019, the Department of Justice investigated 1,878 suspected hate crimes cases and prosecuted just 17% of them. In Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas, legislators have added police officers as a protected category under hate crimes laws — an utter mockery of the original intent of hate crimes legislation. Hate crimes statistics do very little to describe the state of racism in America.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 30, 2021 13:02 UTC