RICHMOND -
According to the Virginia law enforcement agencies who report hate crimes to the FBI, in 2008 Virginia saw 263 such incidents. Sixty five percent of those crimes focused on a person's race. Fourteen percent were motivated by the victim's religiona nd 13 percent focused on a person's sexual orientation
In Central Virginia, there were 10 racially motivated hate crimes in Henrico, 7 in Chesterfield and 6 in the City of Richmond. The recently released statistics are surprisingly low to some community activists. NAACP Executive Director King Salim Khalfani says "We think that some of the crimes just go unreported and prosecutors don't classify them as such. They may seek to charge the person with malicious wounding or another crime that may carry more punishment than a hate crime does."
Jay Ipson, Executive Director of the Virginia Holocaust museum calls the numbers troubling. He says "You never forget the pain. I was indirectly a hate crime victim. I was a survivor of the Holocaust. My family died in the Holocaust and you never forget the pain. You hear one thing and it keys up memories. Then you have sleepless nights and nightmares."
Nationwide, the numbers stack up like this. There were 7,783 criminal incidents involving 9,168 offenses in 2008 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national orgin, or disability.
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the FBI, the largest percentage (31.9) of hate crime incidents occurred in or near homes; followed by 17.4 percent on highways, roads, alleys or streets; 11.7 percent at schools or colleges; 6.1 percent in parking lots or garages; and 4.2 percent in churches, synagogues, or temples. The remaining 28 percent of hate crime incidents took place at other specified locations, multiple locations or other/unknown locations.
Khalfani and Ipson both agree that the only way to battle hatred in our society is through education. For more details on the nationwide hate crimes report by the Federal Bureau of Investigations click on www.fbi.gov.
In Central Virginia, there were 10 racially motivated hate crimes in Henrico, 7 in Chesterfield and 6 in the City of Richmond. The recently released statistics are surprisingly low to some community activists. NAACP Executive Director King Salim Khalfani says "We think that some of the crimes just go unreported and prosecutors don't classify them as such. They may seek to charge the person with malicious wounding or another crime that may carry more punishment than a hate crime does."
Jay Ipson, Executive Director of the Virginia Holocaust museum calls the numbers troubling. He says "You never forget the pain. I was indirectly a hate crime victim. I was a survivor of the Holocaust. My family died in the Holocaust and you never forget the pain. You hear one thing and it keys up memories. Then you have sleepless nights and nightmares."
Nationwide, the numbers stack up like this. There were 7,783 criminal incidents involving 9,168 offenses in 2008 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national orgin, or disability.
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the FBI, the largest percentage (31.9) of hate crime incidents occurred in or near homes; followed by 17.4 percent on highways, roads, alleys or streets; 11.7 percent at schools or colleges; 6.1 percent in parking lots or garages; and 4.2 percent in churches, synagogues, or temples. The remaining 28 percent of hate crime incidents took place at other specified locations, multiple locations or other/unknown locations.
Khalfani and Ipson both agree that the only way to battle hatred in our society is through education. For more details on the nationwide hate crimes report by the Federal Bureau of Investigations click on www.fbi.gov.
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