Hate Crime Research & Reporting: Check the Data, Know How to Get Help

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Hate crime data can help you understand a community — but context matters.

Official hate crime data can help residents, families, researchers, and community groups understand reported incidents and patterns. The goal is awareness, preparation, and knowing how to respond if something happens.

A reported incident does not define an entire neighborhood, and a low count does not prove that bias-related incidents never occur. Reporting levels, agency participation, population, and local enforcement practices all matter.

Official DataRead It CarefullyHow to ReportVictim HelpCommunity Response

Start With Official FBI Hate Crime Data

The FBI collects hate crime statistics through its Uniform Crime Reporting program. Participating federal, state, county, city, tribal, university, and college law-enforcement agencies submit data about reported incidents.

Open FBI Crime Data Explorer FBI Hate Crime Statistics

Bias Motivation

FBI hate crime data can include bias motivation involving race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.

Location Matters

Reported incidents may occur at homes, schools, houses of worship, businesses, sidewalks, campuses, and other locations. Look at the setting instead of treating every incident as identical.

Agency Participation Matters

Hate crime data depends on law-enforcement agencies submitting information to the FBI. Participation and completeness can vary.

Look at Trends, Not One Number

Compare multiple years when possible. One year may be unusually high or low and should not automatically define the long-term pattern.

How to Read Hate Crime Data Carefully

  • Check the year and reporting period. Do not compare different time windows as though they are equal.
  • Look at agency participation. Missing data is not the same as zero incidents.
  • Consider population. Raw counts alone can be misleading when comparing places of very different size.
  • Separate incident types. Threats, assaults, vandalism, and other offenses can have very different impacts.
  • Remember underreporting. Not every hate incident or hate crime is reported to police.
  • Use more than one source. Check local police or sheriff data and community information where available.
Important: a hate crime statistic is not a rating of an entire neighborhood. Use it as one piece of broader community research.

How to Report a Hate Crime

The U.S. Department of Justice recommends reporting a hate crime first to state or local police and then quickly following up with the FBI.

  • Emergency: call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
  • Local report: contact your local police department or sheriff.
  • FBI: submit a tip online at tips.FBI.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
  • Local FBI office: you can also contact the FBI field office serving your area.
DOJ Hate Crime Reporting Guide Submit an FBI Tip

Victim Support & Civil Rights Help

The Justice Department provides resources for victims of hate crimes and hate incidents, including victim-support services and civil-rights reporting.

VictimConnect Resource Center

VictimConnect provides information and assistance to crime victims, including people affected by hate crimes.

Phone: 1-855-4-VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)

Civil Rights Division

Not every biased incident is a crime. Some incidents may still involve civil-rights concerns that can be reported to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

DOJ Civil Rights Portal
DOJ Resources for Victims

A Community Response Matters Too

Law enforcement has an important role, but communities also become stronger when neighbors communicate, support people who are targeted, document recurring problems, improve lighting and public spaces, and work together through lawful community-safety efforts.

The FBI notes that many field offices work with state and local law enforcement and community groups to address local hate crime problems. Stronger communication can improve reporting and help communities understand what is actually happening.

Read Neighborhood Watch 101 Open the Blog Street Crime Map Resource

If Someone Is in Immediate Danger

Call 911. This page is a research and resource guide and is not an emergency-reporting service.

If the situation is not an emergency, use the local police non-emergency process and the federal reporting resources above when appropriate.

Blog Street disclaimer: Hate crime definitions, state laws, reporting systems, agency participation, and public data availability vary by jurisdiction. Homes on Blog Street does not determine whether a specific incident legally qualifies as a hate crime. Use official law-enforcement and Department of Justice resources for reporting and legal determinations.

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