Hate crimes nearly doubled in Seattle between 2016 and 2017, according to the latest FBI’s Uniform Crime Report.
Law enforcement agencies within the city reported 118 incidents of hate crimes in 2016 and 234 in 2017.
A little more than half of Seattle’s crimes reported to the FBI last year were based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry – 120. Forty-five of the crimes were because of the victim’s religion, 57 for sexual orientation, 11 for their gender identity, and one for gender.
Across the United States, the FBI said law enforcement reported a 17 percent increase in hate crimes in 2017 over the previous year. Washington state witnessed a greater increase, with the percentage of hate crimes up by 27 percent over 2016.
Washington had 613 hate crimes reported in 2017 -- a statistic that includes crimes of homicide, rape, assault, intimidation, and burglary. California was the only state to report more instances of hate-motivated crimes last year.
Most other Washington cities report remarkably fewer incidents than Seattle. The number of hate crimes in Spokane were fewer than the Emerald City, but more than tripled locally between 2016 and 2017, increasing from eight to 28.
Bellevue had the second most incidents in 2016 but reported two fewer in 2017, shrinking from 18 to 16 in 2017. Kent reported 15 incidents in 2016 and 2017. Spokane Valley also saw a slight increase, up from 10 in 2016 to 14 in 2017.
“In the wake of the tragic events in Pittsburgh that impacted the nation, we want to assure Washingtonians that their safety and civil rights are a top priority,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office.
“When incidents targeting protected groups occur in our community, we perform timely and meticulous reviews to determine whether bias was a motivating factor and if violation(s) of federal law occurred. We continue to work diligently, in close collaboration with our law enforcement partners, to counter the intentions of those who seek to threaten, intimidate, or harm our community via bias-motivated crimes,” Paul said.
Washington residents should report hate crimes to the FBI’s Seattle Field Office at 206-622-0460, in addition to calling 911. Tips can also be made anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.
