The FBI, in January 1993, released the first data available from its statistical program on hate crimes compiled under the federal Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990. They covered the calendar year 1991 and were supplied by nearly 3,000 law enforcement agencies in 32 states. A total of 5,558 hate crime incidents involving 5,775 offences were reported in 1991. Intimidation was the most frequently reported hate crime, accounting for one of three offences. Words are the most frequent indicator of the hate motivation, and assault is most often the underlying offense.
Most victims are white, and most offenders are white.
Given the proportion of whites to blacks in the population and further given the generally known pattern of racism against blacks, the unexpected finding that blacks victimize whites slightly more often than whites victimize blacks warrants some further investigation. Although there is no firm indication of it among the data at hand, it is possible that there is a racial differential in the way victims take advantage of the new hate crimes statutes. The finding might also be a function of the way the hate crime law is enforced. This broad definition recognized the need to include the perception of the victim as regards the attack as an important factor in determining if the incident was racially motivated. This definition is the one adopted by the Home Office, and all police forces in Great Britain now have defined procedures for recording and monitoring racial incidents.