The statistics, both local and national, say yes. According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, from 1991 to 1999, blacks, who make up 3 percent of the state population, were suspects in 19 percent of all hate crimes in the state. There were 249 incidents reported statewide in 1999, the most recent year with complete records. In King County during the same period, blacks, who make up 5 percent of the population, were suspects in 22 percent of the county's hate crimes. According to the latest figures, blacks make up 8 percent, whites 68 percent and Asians and Pacific Islanders 13 percent of Seattle's population.
Agencies vary in their methods of collecting data.
And the true number of hate crimes by all races will never be known. These statistics provide, at best, a rough picture. But while the stats consistently indicate blacks commit a disproportionate number of hate crimes, police on all levels also consistently report that blacks are by far the most frequent victims of hate crime. Between 30 and 40 percent of all hate crimes, locally and nationally, are committed against blacks, and the vast majority of the suspects in these crimes are white. This, at least for some, justifies the way hate crimes are addressed by police and media.