Here Are The 9 New York State Counties With The Most Hate Crimes

On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $16 million in grants to help keep non-profits and community organizations safe from hate crimes. The money will be used to bolster safety and security. The money was distributed via the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, which is run by the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services. There are 205 organizations that received 327 grants.

New York State’s diversity is our strength, yet too many New Yorkers continue to live in fear and today we say enough is enough. Hate, racism, and xenophobia have no place in our State, and this critical funding sends a clear message that New York stands united against individuals who seek to sow hatred and divide us.

As much as New York is a melting pot, there are still hate crime incidents. According to New York State's annual hate crime report for 2020 (which is the most recent data), there was a total of 488 hate crimes reported across the state and 187 arrests. The total number of hate crimes reported is most certainly significantly lower since many go unreported.

Hate crime incidents and/or arrests were reported by police departments and sheriffs’ offices in 49 of the state’s 62 counties.

Here's a breakdown of the races of the perpetrators of hate crimes in New York State,

White - 104 (47.7%)
Black - 61 (28.0%)
Hispanic - 34 (15.6%)
Asian/Pacific Islander - 5 (2.3%)

These are the top four motives of hate crimes in the state,

4. Anti-Gender - 7 (3.1%)
3. Anti-LGBTQ - 43 incidents (19.3%)
2. Anti-Religion - 54 incidents (24.2%)
1. Anti-Race/Ethnicity/National Origin - 118 incidents (52.9%)

Black and Jewish people, as well as members of the LGBTQ community, are most frequently the targets of hate crimes,

• Anti-Black bias accounted for 59.2 percent (128 of 216) of the incidents involving anti-race/ethnicity/national origin bias and 26.2 percent (128 of 488) of all reported hate crimes.
• In the anti-religion bias category, antiJewish crimes accounted for the overwhelming majority of incidents: 88.3 percent (182 of 206).
• Anti-Jewish crimes accounted for 37.3 percent (182 of 488) of all hate crime incidents.
• Anti-LGBTQ bias accounted for 11.5 percent of all reported hate crimes (56
of 488).

Here are the top 9 counties in New York with the most reported hate crimes:

9. Erie (Buffalo) - 12 incidents and 8 arrests

8. Monroe (Rochester) - 16 incidents and 5 arrests

7. Richmond (Staten Island) - 18 incidents and 7 arrests

6. Bronx (Bronx) - 22 incidents and 17 arrests

5. Nassau (Hempstead) - 28 incidents and 8 arrests

4. Westchester (Yonkers) - 40 incidents and 6 arrests

3. Queens (Queens) - 47 incidents and 18 arrests

2. New York (Manhattan) - 82 incidents and 23 arrests

1. Kings (Brooklyn) - 103 incidents and 34 arrests

While any number of hate crimes is horrible, when you think of the population of New York State, these numbers are relatively low. However, keep in mind the bar to consider an incident a hate crime is pretty high. Aside from the fact that many potential hate crimes often go unreported.

Data provided by the NY Deptartment of Criminal Justice Services

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