Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office Releases 2011 Hate Crimes Report

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's Office of Civil Rightstoday released the 2011 HateCrimes in Florida Report, which includes detailed information on the typesof hate crimes being committed throughout the Sunshine State. In 2011, 139 hate crimes were reported by 58 of the 407 local lawenforcement agencies that provide data to the Florida Department of LawEnforcement through the Uniform Crime Reporting information system.

Florida law defines a "hate crime" as one whose "commission ... evidences prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, mental or physical disability, or advanced age of the victim." Such prejudiceaggravatesthe legal gravity of an offense committed --e.g., asecond-degree misdemeanor, if motivated by "hate," is reclassi?ed as a first-degree.

During 2011, the alleged motivating factors behind the reported hate crimeswere as follows:

Race -- 43.2 percent.
Religion -- 20.9 percent.
Sexual orientation -- 20.1 percent.
Ethnicity/national origin -- 15.1 percent.
Mental disability -- 0.7 percent.

A copy of the 2011 Florida Hate Crimes report can be accessed by clickinghere.