New NYPD data shows hate crimes on the rise in New York City

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

New NYPD data shows hate crimes on the rise in NYCThe NYPD on Tuesday reported a 100% increase in overall reported hate crimes, but the department says they're making progress in fighting them. Josh Einiger has the latest.

BEDFORD STUYVESANT, Brooklyn -- Hate crimes are on the rise in New York City, but the NYPD says they are making progress in fighting them.

They're out every night these days, police keeping a close watch on an Hasidic pocket of Bedford Stuyvesant, where lately, children as young as three years old have been targeted, slapped and even pulled to the ground.

It's happened at least three times, police believe, simply because they are Jewish.

"Don't ever forget the victims in this and the trauma these cases inflict not just on them but the greater society," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said.

Those little kids share something terrible in common with hundreds of other New Yorkers.

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The precincts where both incidents took place each have seen shooting incidents increase by around 37% compared to this time in 2020.

Because in one of the most diverse cities on the planet, acts of hate have exploded.

The NYPD on Tuesday night reported a 100% increase in overall reported hate crimes.

Anti-Asian incidents have jumped 361%, from 28 this time last year to 129 this year.

Anti-LGBT cases are up 193%, from 29 victims last year to 85 this year.

And anti-Jewish cases, already sky high, are up another 51%. There were a whopping 121 cases by this time in 2020. So far this year, 183.

See the bottom of the story for a breakdown of hate crimes in New York City

"We are given, let say 25 cases that we review. They are made up of all different types of cases and we just go through each one of them," said Devorah Halberstam of the Hate Crime Review Panel.

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For months, this diverse group of civilian advocates has been embedded with the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force, reviewing cases that have and haven't been ruled to be acts of hate.

So far, they've convinced the officers to change their mind on two cases, which had not originally been classified as hate crimes.

"This is an expert bunch of people, panel who can talk to us and say look at this, and when we looked at those two, we said you know what, you're right. And moving forward, we're gonna improve," said Chief James Essig of the NYPD Detective Bureau.

Hate crimes arrests are also up about 100%.

So far this year, police have cleared about half their cases.

When it comes to the children targeted in this neighborhood, detectives released images of the three young women they say have struck at least three times.

The Anti-Defamation League has posted a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.