The FBI/DOJ Report on Hate Crimes

The number of hate crimes in the U.S. last year rose almost 8 percent, a new Federal Bureau of Investigation study found.

Today’s FBI study found that 51.8 percent of the hate crimes in 2006 were motivated by race, 18.9 percent by religion, 15.5 percent by sexual orientation and 12.7 percent by ethnicity. One percent involved bias against a person’s disability.

However, the accuracy report is being questioned. Of those police agencies that took part in the study, 83 percent reported no hate crimes at all in 2006. The blue skies outlook was most common where it was historically least likely: the South. While California reported 1,297 incidents last year, Alabama identified one. Reports suggest Mississippi made it through the year without a single bias-based crime.

The State Of . . . Racism. No hate crimes in Mississippi? Really? None?