Reports of hate crimes have risen 17 percent nationally and 12.1 percent in North Carolina, according to a new report released Tuesday by the FBI.
In North Carolina, of the 44 participating agencies in the state, the bureau reports 166 hate crimes in 2017. In 2016, the state reported 148 hate crimes.
There were 32 hate crimes reported by Charlotte-Mecklenburg in 2017, up from 27 the prior year. That includes 17 crimes motivated by race, nine by religion, and five by sexual orientation.
Hate crimes rose in South Carolina, too. The state reported 87 hate crimes in 2017. There were 23 in 2016.
This year, more than 1,000 additional agencies contributed to the FBI’s report. The most common hate crime report was for bias related to race (59.6 percent) followed by religion (20.6 percent) and then sexual orientation (15.8 percent).