Hate crimes and offenses in schools skyrocketed between 2018 and 2022, according to an FBI report. In this period, they went from 700 complaints in educational facilities to 1,336, an increase of almost 90% for a total of 4,343 over the period. The most persecuted group were blacks (1,642), followed by Jews (742). Anti-LGBT offenses, adding homophobic and anti-trans attacks, were 342 during these five years. With these data, the school was the third location in which the most hate crimes were perpetrated, behind the home or place of residence and the streets or highways.
Data reported to the #FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program show hate crimes continue to be a problem across the nation. Read the new special report analyzing the offenses committed at schools from 2018 through 2022: https://t.co/pWXYtJY26D pic.twitter.com/kTZB6a03n1
— FBI (@FBI) January 29, 2024
Intimidation, the most reported hate crime
According to the report, the most reported crime was intimidation, with 1,623 crimes recorded in total during the five years analyzed. This is followed by destruction, damage or vandalism (1,543), and Simple Assault (826). Aggravated assaults reached 176 in classrooms or educational properties in this period.
From 2018 to 2022, race was the main reason for hate attacks, with a total of 2,624 offenses reported, with black people being the most persecuted group. Surprisingly, whites come in second place (245), while Hispanics come in third place (183). The second biggest cause is religion, with anti-Semitic attacks in first place and almost monopolizing this section, as they suffered 745 of the 950 reported attacks. Far behind are anti-Muslim crimes (71). Attacks due to sexual orientation or gender identity represent the third largest group.
More attacks in secondary schools than in primary schools and universities combined
By type of center, secondary schools are the place where the most hate crimes were reported, with a total of 2,815 during the five years studied by the FBI. Next are the Primary schools, with less than half of the cases (1,114), while in the university campuses this type of crime falls to 414 registered in this period. The sum of the last two centers is less than the complaints in Secondary schools.
The explosion of hate crimes and offenses recorded in educational centers is a reflection of what is also happening outside the classrooms. Between 2018 and 2022, there were 7,181 crimes and 8,492 offenses to 11,643 and 13,346, respectively.
