The number of hate crimes against LGBTQ Mainers outpaced the national rate in 2021, according to a new report released by the FBI.
Reports Maine Public Radio:
The number of hate crimes reported in Maine dropped slightly last year after exploding in 2020, but a greater portion in the state target LGBTQ residents than in the rest of the nation, according to new data released by the FBI.
Maine’s top federal prosecutor said the numbers serve as a call to action for her and her office to build trust among marginalized communities in the state so they see the value of reporting hate crimes to police.
Police agencies reported 75 hate crimes in 2021, which was down slightly from the 83 they reported in 2020, when the number of hate crimes had quadrupled in one year, in line with a national rise.
Nationally, the FBI reported a lower number of hate crimes in 2021 than in 2020, but the agency’s data doesn’t include submissions from some of the nation’s largest police departments, and other analyses have shown a rise in hate crimes. The FBI had switched to a new reporting system, and a number of police departments did not make the switch.
In Maine, the FBI said it received data from 129 of 132 police departments, a higher rate than the two-thirds of departments that reported data nationally.
The most common hate crimes in Maine targeted Black people and members of the LGBTQ community. There were 35 incidents involving anti-Black or anti-African American bias last year and 24 that involved anti-LGBTQ bias, according to the data.
There were six hate crimes reported that targeted Jewish Mainers, and three that targeted people because of their gender identity.
Thirty-two percent of Maine hate crimes targeted LGBTQ residents, higher than the national rate of 16 percent.
Read the complete Maine Public Radio story here.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
