Newly released supplemental data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that reported hate crime incidents in 2021 rose to 10,840 incidents, the highest level recorded in more than two decades. ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) said the updated count provides a more complete picture of hate crimes in America, and is a step toward a more accurate reflection of the lived experience of marginalized communities across the country today.
“The supplemental hate crime data released today confirms what ADL predicted at the time of the initial release – reported hate crimes for 2021 reached record high levels,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Data drives policy. Moving forward, law enforcement agencies must urgently commit to hate crime data collection and reporting, and Congress must make it mandatory for state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to participate in the FBI’s hate crime data collection efforts each year. Absent comprehensive and inclusive data, policymakers will lack the critical information that is needed to address these concerning trends.”
Supplemental data provided to the FBI since the initial December release of hate crimes data for 2021 shows that there were 10,840 reported hate crimes in 2021 (the FBI data had initially reflected 7,262 hate crimes). A total of 14,859 law enforcement agencies, which represents about 79 percent of the agencies enrolled in the hate crime data collection program, participated in reporting for 2021.
According to the FBI, the number of reported single-bias anti-Jewish hate crimes rose from 683 in 2020 to 817 in 2021, and comprised a little more than half of all religion-based hate crimes in 2021, consistent with data reported in prior years. There were also 109 antisemitic assaults reported, a 16 percent increase from 2020.
Of the total number of reported hate crime incidents, a clear majority (approximately 64.5 percent) were based on race, ethnicity or national origin – as has been the case for the last two decades, with reported anti-Black hate crimes making up the vast majority of those.
Reported anti-AAPI hate crimes rose sharply, from 294 in 2020 to 789 in 2021. Reported hate crimes targeting anti-LGBTQ+ individuals also rose significantly; reported sexual-orientation-based hate crimes rose from 1,110 in 2020 to 1,707 in 2021 and reported gender-identity-based hate crime incidents rose from 266 in 2020 to 342 in 2021. And reported religion-based hate crimes, which represented approximately 14 percent of all reported hate crimes, rose from 1,244 in 2020 to 1,590 in 2021.
ADL, which keeps its own count of both criminal and non-criminal acts of hate against Jews, counted a total of 2,717 antisemitic incidents in 2021, the highest number on record since ADL began tracking such data in 1979. Assaults – considered the most serious incident type because it involves person-on-person physical violence – increased 167 percent in 2021.
Jews make up around two percent of the U.S. population. In 2021, antisemitic hate crimes accounted for 7.5 percent of all hate crimes reported by the FBI.
“With antisemitic incidents up across the board in nearly every category we track, and with the FBI data now reflecting a 19.6 percent increase in reported antisemitic hate crimes for 2021, a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach will be needed to address these extremely disturbing trends,” said Greenblatt. “Hate crimes are message crimes; they are uniquely harmful and deeply personal, both to the individual and to the group of people who share the individual’s characteristics. It is essential that, as we craft policy solutions and dig into the hard work of addressing hate crimes, we take a community- and victim-centered approach.”
Hate Crime Statistics, 2021, is available as a downloadable on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer at cde.ucr.cjis.gov.
