Virginia ranks No. 10 for rising in hate crimes, study says
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - According to a new study, Virginia ranks tenth for seeing the biggest rise in hate crimes across the country.
The study by SafeHome.org used data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, says hate crimes in Virginia saw a 70 percent rise between 2013-2017.
During the same time period, nationally there was 22 percent increase with 8,500 cases being reported to police.
Of the crimes, race, ethnicity and ancestry were the leading single-bias offense at 59 percent. Of those offenses, African-Americans were the most targeted racial group.
Jews were the most targeted religious group of all religious incidents, followed by Muslims.
Fifty-one percent of offenders were Caucasion and 83 percent were 18 and older.
Wyoming, Georgia, Vermont, Delaware and District of Columbia saw the biggest rise in hate crimes, according to the study.
To look at the full study, click here.
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