A recently released FBI report unveiled a concerning trend, positioning schools as the third-highest location for hate crimes in the United States. The report, made public on Monday, indicates that as much as 10% of all reported hate crimes in 2022 occurred within educational institutions across the country.
The study highlighted that secondary schools, encompassing preschool to 12th grade, experienced the highest volume of hate crimes from 2018 to 2022. In 2022 alone, over 1,300 hate crimes were reported at schools and college campuses, with 890 incidents recorded at secondary schools during that year.
“During these five years, over 30 percent of juvenile victims of hate crimes experienced the offense at school, and nearly 36 percent of juvenile offenders committed the offense at school,” noted the report.
Hate crimes at schools ranked behind those committed at home and on the road, according to the FBI’s findings. The year 2022 witnessed a notable increase in school-related hate crimes compared to the previous two years, marked by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report suggested that the 3.9% drop in reported hate crimes from 2019 to 2020 might be attributed to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders, leading to a shift from in-person to online learning.
The FBI officials, when asked about the pandemic’s impact on hate crime data, did not provide a response during a press briefing on Monday.
The study also identified a specific timeframe for the occurrence of hate crimes in schools, with the most common quarter being October to December, accounting for nearly one-third of reported offenses during the five-year period from 2018 to 2022.
During this period, October emerged as the month with four hate crime offenses per day in schools nationwide, as per the FBI’s findings.
Breaking down the hate crime offenses, the report highlighted that anti-Black or African American hate crimes were the highest, with 1,690 incidents over the five-year period. This was followed by anti-Jewish hate crimes (745) and anti-LGBTQ hate crimes (741).
In 2022, the FBI recorded 11,643 reported hate crime incidents involving 13,346 related offenses, marking an increase from previous years in the five-year review. The report emphasized that intimidation was the most prevalent form of hate crime, followed by vandalism and simple assault.
During the press briefing, the FBI underscored its intent to draw attention to the data, indicating that state and local law enforcement are better positioned to offer resources to schools rather than the FBI.
