Hate Crimes Rise 30 Percent in New York

Hate crimes in New York grew 30 percent between 2011 and 2012, to a total of 702 incidents last year, state records show.

The increase was largely in New York City and Long Island. Incidents were up 54 percent in the city and up 18 percent in the rest of the state, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.

New York City reported 374 hate-crime incidents and 148 arrests. The rest of the state reported 331 incidents and 138 arrests – with about one-third of those in Suffolk County, the state reported this month.

25 percent of the incidents were anti-black and 22 percent were anti-Jewish.

The state said hate crimes against property increased 48 percent in 2012, while hate crimes against people increased 12 percent.

Nearly 65 percent of hate crimes against property were anti-Jewish.

“For us, it’s a reminder that although New York is a diverse state, we’re still not immune to anti-Semitism and all forms of hate,” said Evan Bernstein, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched an investigation Friday into allegations of anti-Semitism against students in the Pine Bush School District in Orange County.

Bernstein said that a positive results is that communities usually express outrage to hate crimes.

“We see an overwhelming community response from New Yorkers that are willing to stand up and say that our state is not accepting of anti-Semitism and hate,” he said, and added: “We still have to do better job of educating and preventing these things from happening.”

Most of the hate crimes were either criminal mischief or simple assault, the state said.

Of the 286 arrests in 2012, 201 have had dispositions – with 140 of them leading to convictions, mainly through plea deals, the state said. The remainder were mostly dismissed.