Hate Crime Statistics 1999

Hate Crime Statistics, 1999 (pdf)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation today released its final 1999 hate crime data in the annual publication, Hate Crime Statistics, 1999. According to the figures, 12,122 law enforcement agencies in 48 states and the District of Columbia reported a total of 7,876 bias-motivated criminal incidents to the Bureau's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Of the 7,876 incidents, racial bias motivated 4,295; religious bias was associated with 1,411; sexual-orientation bias accounted for 1,317; ethnicity/national origin bias was the cause of 829; disability bias was connected with 19; and the remaining five incidents were the result of multiple biases.

Reported hate crime incidents involved 9,301 offenses (some incidents may include more than one offense), 66.5 percent of which were classified as crimes against persons. Intimidation, the most frequently reported hate crime against persons, was also the most frequently reported hate crime of all offenses measured, accounting for 35.1 percent of the total. In addition, destruction/damage/vandalism, the most frequently reported crime against property, accounted for 28.5 percent of the total. Simple assault and aggravated assault, both crimes against persons, comprised 19.0 percent and 12.0 percent, respectively, of all reported offenses.

Seventeen persons were murdered in incidents motivated by hate. Racial bias motivated nine of the murders, and sexual-orientation bias and ethnicity/national origin bias accounted for three deaths each. Two murders were motivated by religious bias.

Of the 9,802 reported hate crime victims, 82.8 percent were individuals. Distribution figures for the remaining victim types were other/unknown/multiple, 6.2 percent; society/public, 3.6 percent; business/financial institution, 3.2 percent; religious organization, 2.2 percent; and government, 1.9 percent. By bias motivation, victims of racial bias accounted for 56.3 percent of all hate crime victims in 1999. Victims of religious bias comprised 16.5 percent of the victim total; victims of sexual-orientation bias, 16.0 percent; victims of ethnicity/national origin bias, 10.9 percent; and victims of disability bias, 0.23 percent. Victims of multiple biases accounted for the remainder of the total.

In 1999, the highest percent of reported hate crime incidents, 28.7 percent, occurred in/on residential properties. Incidents committed on highways/roads/alleys/streets accounted for 18.5 percent, 16.2 percent took place in other/unknown locations, and 10.2 percent occurred at schools and colleges. The remaining 26.4 percent of incidents were widely distributed among various locations.

Collectively, the 12,122 agencies that participated in the Hate Crime Data Collection Program in 1999 represented nearly 233 million United States inhabitants, or over 85 percent of the nation's population. Though the reports from these agencies are insufficient to allow valid national or regional measure of the volume and types of crimes motivated by hate, they offer perspectives on the general nature of hate crime occurrence.