New York State has seen a surge in hate crimes over the last five years with 1,089 reported instances in 2023, marking the highest number since data collection and annual reporting were mandated by New York’s Hates Crimes Act of 2000, according to a report by State Comptroller DiNapoli. The number is 69% more than in 2019.

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“New York is a diverse hub of cultures, beliefs and identities, whose strength has always been in the creation of community bonds that unite us,” DiNapoli said. “Fighting hatred and bigotry demands that we communicate with, respect and accept our neighbors. It requires our spiritual, political, community and business leaders to take active roles in denouncing hate, investing in prevention and protection efforts and increasing education that celebrates the value of New York’s diversity.”

A hate crime is an offense that is motivated by a perception or belief about the victim’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or another protected characteristic. Hate crimes can be committed against a person or property.

Except for 2020, which may reflect artificially low reporting due to CoViD-19, there has been a steady rise in hate crimes over the past five years, with the number of reported incidents more than doubling between 2018 and 2023. Moreover, the available data may not capture all relevant crimes, as underreporting may occur for several reasons. Victims may be hesitant to report incidents due to reasons that include language barriers, fear of retaliation, mistrust in law enforcement or lack of confidence that justice will be served.

A decade ago, New York City and the rest of the state reported roughly equal shares of hate crime incidents. However, between 2013 and 2019, reported hate crime incidents in New York City increased…