Record-High Hate In NJ Towns: Bias Incidents Reported To Police Climbed 29 Percent In 2021

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey residents reported 1,871 bias incidents to police throughout the state in 2021, the highest annual number since the state began tracking such incidents in 1994, said Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin last week.

The preliminary total number of bias incidents reported for 2021 represents a 29 percent increase from the 1,447 bias incidents reported for 2020, Platkin's office said.

Compiled by the New Jersey State Police, the statistics for 2021 are preliminary and remain subject to change as the reporting is finalized. The final data from the year before that, 2020, are included in a recent report from State Police and the Division on Civil Rights that identifies trends in the data and discusses underlying reasons for the trends.

The Attorney General's office said some of the increase "likely reflects a combination of statewide improvements in reporting and community outreach" but it's also partially due to "other developments linked to a rise in hate crimes and bias offenses nationwide."

The office noted in a release, "Better reporting is only part of the explanation. After analyzing data from 2019 to 2020, the Division on Civil Rights links the increase in reported bias incidents during that period with multiple social and political factors. They include the COVID-19 pandemic, backlash against the Black Lives Matter protest movement that grew from the murder of George Floyd, and racialized rhetoric around the 2020 election."

According to the preliminary data, anti-Black and anti-Jewish bias continued to be the most common race- and religion-based motivations for reported bias incidents in 2021, as in past years. Anti-Black bias was cited as a motivation for 686 reported bias incidents in 2020 and 877 reported bias incidents in 2021, representing 39 percent of all reported motivations in both years.

Anti-Jewish bias was cited as a motivation for 298 reported bias incidents in 2020 and 347 reported bias incidents in 2021, representing 17 percent of all reported motivations in 2020 and 15 percent of all reported motivations in 2021.

In addition, according to the preliminary data for 2021, there were 373 reported bias incidents motivated at least in part by bias against LGBTQ+ people – an annual increase of 64 percent from the 227 such incidents reported in 2020. If these incidents are treated as a single category, they represent the second-largest category of reported bias incidents in 2021, after anti-Black incidents. Most significantly in that category, reported incidents involving anti-transgender bias were up 171 percent, from 17 incidents in 2020 to 46 incidents in 2021.

The preliminary data also reflects increases in 2021 in reported bias incidents associated with bias against Asian people. There were 69 reported incidents involving Anti-Asian bias in 2020, compared with 129 incidents in 2021, for an increase of 87 percent. Anti-Asian bias represented 4 percent of all reported motivations in 2020 and 6 percent of all reported motivations in 2021.

The number of reported bias incidents involving a particular group may reflect the size of the relevant population in New Jersey, their willingness to report bias incidents to law enforcement, and barriers to reporting, among other factors, said the AG.

Locations For Reported Bias Incidents

The types of locations where bias incidents are reported to have occurred remained largely consistent in 2020 and 2021, the AG said.

However, 2021 was the first year in which New Jersey State Police separately tracked incidents occurring in “cyberspace,” which previously were classified as “other/unknown.” There were 275 reported bias incidents occurring in cyberspace in 2021 (roughly 15 percent of all reported incidents).

Relatedly, the number of reported bias incidents occurring at “other/unknown” locations dropped from 308 in 2020 to 68 in 2021.

At the same time, the number of reported bias incidents occurring at elementary and secondary schools increased from 96 in 2020 to 207 in 2021 (an increase of 116 percent) as children returned to in-person education.

Incidents occurring in virtual school settings were coded as “other/unknown” or “cyberspace.”

“New Jersey is proudly one of the most diverse states in the country, and we’ve made clear that hate has no home here,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a rise in reports of bias incidents nationwide, and the Garden State is no exception. That’s why the work being done in the Attorney General’s Office to encourage people to feel comfortable reporting bias incidents to law enforcement and to address the root causes of hate is so important."

Numbers By Town

To view statistics for 2022 so far and 2021 by town, download the reports here.

The following towns' police departments are listed as having gotten 25 or more bias reports: Cherry Hill, Clifton, East Brunswick, Howell, Lakewood, Lawrence Township, Mount Laurel, New Brunswick, Ocean Township, and Washington Township.

State's Response: Curriculum Additions, Reporting Guidelines

In addition to its efforts to encourage the reporting of bias incidents to law enforcement, the state has undertaken a number of actions to address hate and bias. Some of those focus on combatting hate and bias among young people. These efforts were highlighted in the 2020 report of the Youth Bias Task Force, which proposed sweeping changes.

Recently enacted laws also require that students in designated grades receive instruction on the contributions to society of Asian American and Pacific Islanders and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people – groups that saw some of the most notable increases in reported bias incidents from 2020 to 2021.

Other initiatives include a package of initiatives to use the reach of the Department of Law & Public Safety to promote racial justice throughout New Jersey, and the creation of a new Incident Response Team within the Division on Civil Rights that can respond in the community following a major civil rights incident, said the AG's office.

Members of the public are encouraged to report bias incidents to their local police departments, or via the NJBIAS online portal at https://bias.njcivilrights.gov, or by calling 800-277-BIAS.

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