Racial Bias Tied to Most Hate Crimes in 1998, FBI Says
Racial prejudice motivated more than half the 7,755 hate crimes committed in 1998 that were reported to the FBI, the bureau said Thursday.
As in 1996 and 1997, racial prejudice was the most common motivation for hate crimes, accounting for 4,321 incidents in 1998.
In order of magnitude, there were 1,390 incidents attributed to prejudice over religion, 1,260 over sexual orientation, 754 over ethnic or national origin, 25 over disabilities and five over multiple prejudices, the FBI said.
The 1998 data come from 10,730 law enforcement agencies in 46 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80% of the population.
In 1998, crimes against people accounted for 68% of the offenses, with intimidation the most frequent hate crime at 38% of the total. Vandalism and destruction of property accounted for 28% of reported offenses, simple assault for 18% and aggravated assault for 12%.
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