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The latest report on hate crimes by Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism sent news media calling on center director and criminal justice professor Brian Levin.
The “Special Status Report: Hate Crime in Metropolitan Areas in U.S. (2016)” was written by Levin, with analytic charting by Kevin Grisham (geography and environmental studies), the center’s assistant director of research. It can be read online on the center’s website.
Reuters news service reporters Grant Smith and Daniel Trotta were the first to publish an article from the report, which was released on March 13. Hate crimes in nine U.S. metropolitan areas rose more than 20 percent last year, fueled by inflamed passions during the presidential campaign and more willingness for victims to step forward, Reuters reported.
The complete article, which was picked up by newspapers and online news sites worldwide, can be read at “U.S. hate crimes up 20 percent in 2016 fueled by election campaign-report.”
Salon.com’s Sophia Tesfaye followed up with her own article on March 15. Researchers have determined that the rampant xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric that dominated much of the media’s attention during the 2016 presidential election led to a “very significant” increase in the number of reported hate-based acts of violence or intimidation across the U.S., she reported.
“We’re getting enough data that appears to indicate a broad national increase,” Tesfaye quoted Levin. Hate crime data is notoriously difficult to track; Levin explained that his previously unreleased report is preliminary data, based on information provided by state and local law enforcement and government agencies.
The complete article may be read at “Hate crimes in U.S. rose more than 20 percent during 2016 presidential campaign.”
Also on March 15, the news site SputnickNews.com (yes, we are aware it is a Russian news outlet like RT.com) reported that “according to new research gathered from police departments around the country, the incidence of hate crimes in the United States soared last year. The new findings, revealed in the 2016-2017 Hate Crime Metro Report published by the nonpartisan Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino on March 13, found that hate crimes in the United States have climbed dramatically, up 21.7 percent during 2016.
“The research, authored by CSUSB Department of Criminal Justice Professor Brian Levin, showed an uptick in hate crimes in several US cities, in particular against Muslims, Jews and members of the LGBTQ community,” the report said.
The article may be read at “Love Trumps What Again? US Hate Crimes Jump More Than 20% in 2016.”
In a separate, but related topic, CGTN (formerly known as CCTV-News) interviewed Levin for its report on the increase of hate incidents against Muslims, both American and foreign born. “Many came under attack after the 9/11 attacks of 2001,” the news site reported. “While time has passed, some have said they feel even more at risk now, after the Nov. 8 election that put Donald Trump in the White House. After the Dec. 2, 2015, San Bernardino shootings, he called for a ban on Muslim immigrants.”
In an interview with CGTN reporter Phil Lavelle, Levin said, “After then-candidate Trump’s Muslim ban announcement on Dec 7, 2015, in the next five days, we saw an 87.5-percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims.” Though that’s not to say President Trump is necessarily responsible, it does raise the question of whether or not Trump did more to help or stop it all, the news site reported.
“Following the 9/11 attacks, hate crimes spiked. Six days after those attacks though, President George Bush spoke at the Islamic Center of D.C. about tolerance. And hate crimes dropped 66-percent in the next six days,” Levin said.
That article, and its online video report, can be seen at “Advocacy groups look for reason behind anti-Muslim hate crimes spike in US.”