Hate crimes in United States surge to 12-year high

(KYMA, KECY/ CNN) - Hate crimes are surging in the U.S. with the Federal Bureau of Investigations saying the country has reached its highest level in 12 years.

It found that more than 10,000 people reported being a victim of a hate crime last year and more than 7,700 criminal hate crime incidents were reported, which is an increase of about 450 incidents over 2019.

That is the highest tally of reported hate crime incidents since 2008 an the increase comes even as fewer agencies reported hate crimes to the FBI than in previous years.

The data shows that bias against African Americans overwhelmingly comprised the largest category, with a total of 56% of those crimes motivated by anti-black bias.

Asians have also been targeted during the Covid-19 pandemic amid online and political rhetoric stigmatizing them even though this category of hate crime is often underreported.

The annual report serves as the most comprehensive look at hate crimes across the country, however the FBI's data could be incomplete as the Federal government does not collect hate crime statistics from local prosecutors or courts.