Most hate crimes experienced by residents in the United States over a 12-year period were not reported to police, according to a new federal report released, raising concerns about ongoing tensions between law enforcement and minority communities.
Over half of the 250,000 hate crimes that occurred each year from 2004 to 2015 went unreported to law enforcement for a variety of reasons, according to a special report on hate crimes released Thursday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The report said many hate crime victims did not report their cases because they felt that police would not help or they didn’t feel it was important.
The new survey shows the limits of hate crime reporting, said Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, California State University.
“Many victims don’t report hate crimes because of personal and institutional reasons,” he said.
Advocates fear that problem is worsening as the administration…