NBC 4 Investigates: Central Ohio Hate Crimes

COLUMBUS, Ohio—In the last decade, more than 77,000 hate crimes were reported to the FBI—that’s nearly one hate crime every hour of every day.

Central Ohio is not immune to the problem. Local advocacy groups said there have been more than 100 hate crimes in the last year in Central Ohio and many more that are unreported.

A teenager was dragged through a parking lot with a noose around his neck in Mount Vernon.

Racial slurs were spray-painted on a bathroom in a Chillicothe park.

A man in south Columbus was attacked and called racial slurs.

Each case is an example of what the government calls hate crimes.

The FBI said 312 hate crimes were reported in Ohio in 2007—94 of which were in Columbus.

Federal statistics haven’t been released for 2008, but according to the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), the FBI numbers are low because hate crimes are often under-reported.

“We counted 185 specific to the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) community in 2008. Columbus police counted 22,“ said Gloria McCauley, of BRAVO.

That’s because the police numbers are only those identified as hate crimes and McCauley said many people don’t give officers complete reports.

“Often, folks are nervous about disclosing to law enforcement what the motivation might have been and they leave out really important information such as what the assailant might have said during the crime,“ McCauley said.

Details are what police use to determine hate crimes. Although McCauley said the numbers are increasing, so is reporting of the crimes.

“We have been working really hard for 13 years now to increase communication between law enforcement and the community and it’s working,“ McCauley said.

Experts said victims of hate crimes are often afraid to report them out of fear of retaliation, which may explain the discrepancy between BRAVO’s numbers and the number of hate crimes reported to Columbus police.

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