Hate crimes fluctuated in North Texas cities between 2016 and 2017, FBI reports

The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics report shows that hate crimes fluctuated in North Texas cities between 2016 and 2017.

In Bedford, Fort Worth and McKinney, the number of hate crimes in 2017 decreased from the previous year. Meanwhile in Arlington, Burleson and Dallas, hate crimes increased.

The most frequently occurring hate crimes in North Texas were based on race and ethnicity and sexual orientation, the data shows.

“This is obviously something that we are very happy with,” Fort Worth police spokesman Sgt.  Chris Britt said.  “The last quarter crime statistics for the city of Fort Worth have showed that the Fort Worth Police Department has been successful in reducing crime overall and this is just another one of those areas.”

Other North Texas cities like Haltom City, Hurst and North Richland Hills reported no instances of hate crimes in 2017. TCU, the Univeristy of North Texas and UT Arlington also reported that no hate crimes occurred in their jurisdictions last year.

According to the FBI, more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies participated in the Hate Crimes Statistics Program last year. They reported a total of 7,175 incidents, up 17 percent from the previous year. An additional 1,000 law enforcement agencies contributed information in 2017, the FBI said in a news release.

The FBI defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” It also specifies that hate itself is not a crime and that the FBI is “mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties.”

A bias incident is an offense that is motivated by an offender’s bias but may not rise to the level of a crime.