A month after the NYPD reported a 152% spike in reported bias crimes in the city, the department has changed its reporting method. However, hate crime experts say it is less transparent and less accurate.
The NYPD reported a 152% spike in bias crimes in the city, mostly against Jews, but they have a handle on it. They allegedly got the numbers down by making the report less transparent and less accurate.
In January, the NYPD reported 58 bias crimes across the city, up from 23 in January 2024 — a jump the department said was driven largely by a spike in reports of anti-Jewish hate crimes. But by the time police reported the figures for February of this year, they had changed their criteria for reporting hate crimes.
Previously, the department reported hate crimes under review. Now it only reports hate crimes that have been investigated and confirmed. Under the new method, the NYPD reported 38 hate crimes for the month. It did not provide a comparison to the same period last year.
The NYPD says this is more accurate, but experts at John Jay College said it’s the opposite. You decide.
The story can be read at The Gothamist. Many of the comments reflected anger with Jews.
