COLORADO, USA — More people in Colorado are reporting that they have been a victim of a hate crime.
The number of reported hate crimes in Colorado in 2022 is the highest number ever recorded in a single year for the state. It also marks a 14% increase from 2021, according to the FBI’s annual hate crime report.
In 2022, 317 hate crimes were reported to the FBI. More than half of the reports made were hate crimes relating to race or ethnicity. The second highest category came under sexual orientation, making up 21% of reports.
"We are seeing some of the really divisive rhetoric happening within the country having an impact on how people relate to the LGBTQ+ community," said Jeremy Shaver, spokesperson for Hate Free Colorado. "I think across the board, when we see what are the real hot button political issues - divisive political issues - unfortunately some people then scapegoat those communities that are being targeted in this debate, and that has real-world consequences."
The increase in hate crimes also coincides with an increase in law enforcement agencies submitting reports to the FBI. Shaver attributes that to increased training to identify hate crimes, report them as such and direct victims to resources.
"On one level, we do recognize that we have agencies, that we have law enforcement agencies, doing a better job of categorizing and catching these incidents, so the numbers are going to go up," Shaver said. "I would rather see the numbers on a decline, but recognizing that more agencies are categorizing these cases properly is a good sign."
The 2022 Hate Free Colorado survey found that nearly 3 in 10 survey participants ages 18+, or an estimated 1.25 million Coloradans, said they were targeted with verbal harassment, property damage, and/or physical injury within the past five years. The survey also found that, of those who experienced a hate crime or bias-motivated incident within the last five years, only 18% reported the incident to police.
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