Why It Matters
Hate crime rates generally increased from 2015 to 2024 across both federal data sources even as non-bias-motivated crime rates were generally decreasing, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) police-reported victimization rate rose 89%, from 1.8 to 3.4 per 100,000, while the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) self-reported rate rose 225%, from 55 to 179 per 100,000.
The report cautions that the trend may not have continued: the FBI's 2025 UCR summary shows hate crime incidents fell 7.0% from 2024 to 2025.
The Big Picture
Race/ethnicity/ancestry was the most common bias category in both sources, accounting for 62.7% of UCR victimizations and 66.3% of NCVS victimizations from 2015 to 2024. Of the 56,512 race/ethnicity/ancestry-motivated UCR victimizations over that period, anti-Black/African American victimizations accounted for 51.0%, or approximately 28,821. Of the 13,098 religion-motivated UCR offenses, 54.9% were anti-Jewish, the largest single religion-based motivation in the UCR data over that period.
From 2015 to 2024, 47.1% of NCVS hate crime victimizations were reported to police, meaning more than half went unreported to law enforcement. The report notes the UCR increase could be partially due to improved law enforcement agency reporting, though it says that explanation does not account for the NCVS increase.
The Office of Management and Budget revised its race and ethnicity data standards in a March 2024 Federal Register notice, adding two racial categories; existing requirements must be brought into consistency no later than March 28, 2029.
The Bottom Line
The report presents Congress with options including improving law enforcement agency reporting to the FBI, targeting resources to at-risk groups, funding police training and school programs, or leaving the issue to states.
Two companion bills that would require the U.S. Department of Justice to audit agency submissions and condition Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding on credible reporting, S.3724 sponsored by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and H.R.2588 sponsored by Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8), remain at introduction with no further action. The 2025 NCVS data had not been released as of the report's publication.
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