MD Hate Bias Crimes Decline Slightly In 2018, Search By County

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Hate bias crimes dropped slightly in 2018 across Maryland from 398 complaints filed to 375 the previous year, but one authority says the numbers remain troubling. Anne Arundel County had the most reports, while the most suspects in reports were white and African-Americans were the target in more cases than other victims.

“We did see a slight decline,” Doron Ezickson, Washington, D.C., regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, told WTOP. “Unfortunately, this was the second-largest number of incidents in the last 10 years.”

Maryland State Police released the annual report in late September. The state defines hate crimes as violence against people or groups, but also crimes against property, such as arson or vandalism, particularly those directed against community centers or houses of worship. State Police compile reports of incidents directed against a person or group because of race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity, or homeless status.

Authorities said hate crimes increased sharply in the last ten years from 155 reports statewide in 2014 to 203 reports in 2015, 296 reports in 2016 and 398 reports in 2017.

“The trend is disturbing,"Ezickson said. The willingness to express hate is on the increase.”

Here are the total hate bias crimes reported for top Maryland jurisdictions in 2018:

• Anne Arundel, 78
• Baltimore County, 76
• Montgomery, 76
• Howard, 58
• Prince George's, 28
• Harford, 18
• Frederick, 17
• Charles, 11
• Cecil, 4
• Baltimore City, 3

Most complaints were linked to race, religion or sexual orientation, the report said, and often involved vandalism, intimidation or assault. The most frequently cited “bias motivation” was anti-black sentiment, followed by anti-Jewish sentiment.

Many reports are categorized as inconclusive, meaning investigators were unable to conclude whether the motivation was hate or bias. Out of the 375 incidents reported in 2018, 260 were inconclusive, 100 were verified and 15 were unfounded.

You can read the full State of Maryland 2018 Hate Bias report online.