There were 7,175 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2017, an increase of 17 percent.
The double-digit jump is three times more than the 5 percent increase the FBI reported in 2016, making it the third year in a row that reported hate crimes have risen.
The new data released by the FBI on Tuesday also shows there was a 37 percent spike in crimes targeting Jews and Jewish institutions.
This comes after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history when a gunman opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue last month, leaving 11 people dead and seven more injured.
“This report provides further evidence that more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America. That begins with leaders from all walks of life and from all sectors of society forcefully condemning anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hate whenever it occurs,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
The FBI also found that religion-based hate crimes increased 23 percent. The 1,564 crimes in 2017 were the second highest ever. The highest number came in 2001, particularly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
There was an 18 percent increase in race-based crimes, with crimes against African-Americans being a plurality of the incidents.
There was also a 24 percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos, a 100 percent increase in those against Arab Americans, a 63 percent increase in those against Native Americans, and a 20 percent increase against those against Asian-Pacific Americans.
Crimes targeting people for their sexual orientation — LGBT individuals — accounted for 1,130 hate crimes, according to the FBI. This was an increase of five percent from 2016.
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said the new data is “a call to action — and we will heed that call. The Department of Justice’s top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes. They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans.”
Whitaker said he was “particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes.”
As with prior FBI reports, there was a noticeable gap in data. At least 92 cities with populations exceeding 100,000 people either did not report any data, or said they had zero hate crimes.
The 2017 data is based on reports from 16,149 law enforcement agencies nationwide, which is the highest level of participation ever since reporting began in 1990.
