America Doesn’t Accurately Document Hate Crimes. Help the Times Fill in the Gaps

Each fall, the FBI releases data on hate crimes across the U.S. Its most recent report showed more than 6,100 hate crimes in 2016, a 5% increase over the previous year.

The numbers included a nearly 20% increase in anti-Muslim crimes, a 15% increase in anti-Latino incidents and a 3% increase in anti-Jewish crimes. The number of crimes against African Americans, who accounted for 50% of victims, remained about the same.

Yet, 88% of the 16,000 law enforcement agencies in the country chose not to report data or told the FBI there were no hate crimes in their jurisdictions. At the same time, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates an average of 250,000 hate-crime victimizations happen each year.

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The Los Angeles Times is partnering with news organizations across the country in an effort led by the nonprofit news company ProPublica to collect recent and more accurate data on hate crimes in California and across the U.S. {snip}

The Times is also seeking information on incidents involving hatred and prejudice that may not legally qualify as crimes.

Reporters at The Times will verify submissions and use them to report on hate crimes and bias. {snip}