Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI civil rights program because of their devastating impact on families and communities. Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim—they are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community.
The FBI defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”
The FBI works to protect all victims of crimes, regardless of their country of national origin or immigration status. The FBI encourages victims and witnesses of any hate-related incident to report it to law enforcement.
If you believe you are a victim or a witness of a hate crime, report it to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
