Home Statistics Main Page 2000 UCR Statistics Table of Contents News and Events

Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI
           
Section VII Section VIII Section IX Section X Section XI Section XII

           

SECTION XII

Bias Incidents


 

INTRODUCTION

 

Crimes motivated by hate and bias tend to erode the basic fabric of society. Bias incidents having a racial, religious, ethnic, sexual or gender component as well as crimes against individuals with a handicap, manifest themselves in a wide spectrum of criminal activities. These bias incidents jeopardize the active and open pursuit of freedom and opportunity. They attack our citizens based on their race, religion, ethnic heritage, sexual orientation, handicap, or gender. Closely linked to such heritage are individual values, beliefs, and identities.

Realizing that no agency within the state was collecting complete data on bias incidents, a broad-based Ad Hoc committee was created to develop a comprehensive statewide reporting system. As a result of the committee's recommendation, Attorney General Executive Directive No. 1987-3 was issued mandating all New Jersey law enforcement agencies to begin reporting bias incident offenses to the Division of State Police, Uniform Crime Reporting Unit, on a monthly basis, effective January 1, 1988. On August 15, 1996, legislation was enacted which enhanced the state's definition of a bias incident to include crimes that are gender or handicap-motivated.

The directive was instituted to capture vital data in an effort to identify the problem. This information permits proper evaluation of progress in preventing bias crime and assist with necessary planning for the future.

This is the thirteenth annual publication concerning bias crimes, which contains comparisons to the previous year's statistics. The published statistics and graphs are the result of data submitted by the police community of New Jersey.

Hopefully, the information contained in this publication will be of value to various segments of society and serve its intended purpose.

 
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BIAS INCIDENT STATISTICAL SUMMARY

 

Highlights of the 2000 bias incident offense statistics are listed below:

  • New Jersey law enforcement agencies reported 656 individual bias incidents, resulting in 710 specific bias incident offenses in 2000, a 5% increase compared to 1999.
  • Harassment accounted for 35% (252) of all bias incident offenses.
  • Criminal mischief and damage to property accounted for 45% (316) of all bias incident offenses.
  • Racial bias accounted for 50% (356) of all bias incident crimes in 2000.
  • The target category of person accounted for 54% (385) of all bias offenses.
  • The Black race represented the most frequent racial group victimized by bias crime, accounting for 42% (298) of all bias offenses.
  • The Jewish religion represented the most frequent religious group victimized by bias crime, accounting for 28% (202) of all bias offenses.
  • The Hispanic ethnicity represented the most frequent ethnic group victimized by bias crime, accounting for 6% (40) of all bias offenses.
  • The most frequent day of occurrence was Monday (119 offenses).
  • The most frequent month of occurrence was October (110 offenses).
  • The most frequent place of occurrence was a residence, where 28% (197 offenses) of all bias incidents occurred.
  • Thirty-seven percent (261) of all bias incident offenses were cleared with 60% (157) being cleared by arrest, and 40% (104) being exceptionally cleared.
  • A total of 173 arrests (116 adults and 57 juveniles) were made resulting from bias incidents. Compared to 1999, arrests decreased 23 percent.
 
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BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES

1996 through 2000

 
BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Murder 1 - - - -
Manslaughter - - - - -
Rape - - - - -
Robbery 8 2 4 - 2
Aggravated Assault 38 16 21 25 21
Burglary 6 4 4 2 5
Larceny-Theft 4 1 2 2 2
Simple Assault 84 68 63 60 53
Fear of Bodily Violence 23 22 20 20 15
Arson 6 2 2 - -
Criminal Mischief 370 303 318 277 292
Damage to Property; Threat of Violence 31 32 20 27 24
Weapons Offense 2 - - - 2
Sex Offense (Except Rape) 1 - 1 2 -
Terroristic Threats 53 46 41 37 38
Trespass - - - - -
Disorderly Conduct 22 18 3 1 2
Harassment 344 267 336 210 252
Desecration of Venerated Objects 5 5 10 1 -
All Other Bias Incident 43 21 32 15 2
TOTAL 1,041 807 877 679 710
 
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BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES/CLEARANCES/ARRESTS

1999/2000

 
BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES Number of Offenses Offenses Cleared Percent Cleared Number of Arrests
Total Arrests Adult Arrests Juvenile Arrests
Murder 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
Manslaughter 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
Rape 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
Robbery 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 2 1 50 0 - -
Aggravated Assault 1999 25 20 80 20 15 5
2000 21 16 76 20 13 7
Burglary 1999 2 2 100 5 - 5
2000 5 - 0 0 - -
Larceny-Theft 1999 2 - 0 0 - -
2000 2 - 0 0 - -
Simple Assault 1999 60 47 78 48 25 23
2000 53 37 70 39 25 14
Fear of Bodily Violence 1999 20 14 70 11 7 4
2000 15 3 20 1 1 -
Arson 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
Criminal Mischief 1999 277 24 9 25 10 15
2000 292 18 6 25 10 15
Damage to Property; Threat of Violence 1999 27 5 19 8 1 7
2000 24 3 13 3 1 2
Weapons Offense 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 2 2 100 1 1 -
Sex Offenses (Except Rape) 1999 2 2 100 2 2 -
2000 - - 0 0 - -
Terroristic Threats 1999 37 22 59 15 11 4
2000 38 16 42 12 10 2
Trespass 1999 - - - 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
Disorderly Conduct 1999 1 1 100 0 - -
2000 2 1 50 0 - -
Harassment 1999 210 150 71 90 65 25
2000 252 164 65 72 55 17
Desecration of Venerated Objects 1999 1 - 0 0 - -
2000 - - - 0 - -
All Other Bias Incidents 1999 15 1 7 0 - -
2000 2 - 0 0 - -
TOTAL 1999 679 288 42 224 136 88
2000 710 261 37 173 116 57
 
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BIAS INCIDENT SUMMARY

TARGET/TYPE - 2000

 
PERSON 385
RACIAL 219 RELIGIOUS 60 ETHNIC 70 SEXUAL 34 OTHER 2
American Indian - Catholic 1 Arab 5 Bisexual 2 Gender -
Asian 17 Hindu 3 Asian Indian 18 Heterosexual(F) - Handicap: 2
Black 177 Islamic 1 Hispanic 32 Heterosexual(M) 2  (1) Physical 1
White 25 Jewish 54 Oriental 9 Homosexual(F) 5  (2) Mental 1
Other - Protestant - Other 6 Homosexual(M) 24
Other 1 Homosexual(M&F) 1

PRIVATE PROPERTY 199
RACIAL 81 RELIGIOUS 96 ETHNIC 15 SEXUAL 6 OTHER 1
American Indian 1 Catholic 2 Arab - Bisexual 1 Gender -
Asian 3 Hindu 3 Asian Indian 3 Heterosexual(F) - Handicap: 1
Black 67 Islamic - Hispanic 7 Heterosexual(M) - (1) Physical -
White 10 Jewish 87 Oriental 2 Homosexual(F) - (2) Mental 1
Other - Protestant 2 Other 3 Homosexual(M) 5
Other 2 Homosexual(M&F) -
   
PUBLIC PROPERTY 126
RACIAL 56 RELIGIOU 63 ETHNIC 4 SEXUAL 3
American Indian - Catholic 2 Arab - Bisexual -
Asian - Hindu - Asian Indian 1 Heterosexual(F) -
Black 54 Islamic - Hispanic 1 Heterosexual(M) -
White 2 Jewish 61 Oriental - Homosexual(F) -
Other - Protestant - Other 2 Homosexual(M) 2
Other - Homosexual(M&F) 1
 
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BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES BY COUNTY

1999/2000

 
Murder Man- slaughter Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Burglary Larceny-Theft Simple Assault Fear of Bodily Violence Arson
Atlantic 1999 - - - - 4 - - 2 1 -
2000 - - - - - 1 - 1 - -
Bergen 1999 - - - - - 1 - 5 1 -
2000 - - - - 5 - - 11 - -
Burlington 1999 - - - - 4 - - 3 - -
2000 - - - - 1 1 - 1 1 -
Camden 1999 - - - - 2 - - 4 3 -
2000 - - - - 1 - - 4 4 -
Cape May 1999 - - - - - - - 4 - -
2000 - - - - - - - 2 - -
Cumberland 1999 - - - - 2 - - - 3 -
2000 - - - 1 - 1 - - - -
Essex 1999 - - - - 1 - - 1 - -
2000 - - - - 2 1 - 3 1 -
Gloucester 1999 - - - - 1 - - 6 1 -
2000 - - - - - - 1 2 1 -
Hudson 1999 - - - - - - - 3 - -
2000 - - - - 2 - 1 - 1 -
Hunterdon 1999 - - - - - - - - 1 -
2000 - - - - - - - - - -
Mercer 1999 - - - - 3 - - 1 - -
2000 - - - - - - - 6 - -
Middlesex 1999 - - - - 2 - - 4 - -
2000 - - - - - - - 4 - -
Monmouth 1999 - - - - 1 - 2 3 3 -
2000 - - - - 3 - - 2 - -
Morris 1999 - - - - 2 1 - 2 1 -
2000 - - - - - - - 3 - -
Ocean 1999 - - - - 1 - - 2 2 -
2000 - - - - 3 - - 3 6 -
Passaic 1999 - - - - 1 - - 12 - -
2000 - - - - 1 - - 5 - -
Salem 1999 - - - - - - - - - -
2000 - - - 1 - - - - - -
Somerset 1999 - - - - 1 - - 1 2 -
2000 - - - - - - - 4 - -
Sussex 1999 - - - - - - - 5 - -
2000 - - - - 1 - - - - -
Union 1999 - - - - - - - 2 2 -
2000 - - - - 2 - - - - -
Warren 1999 - - - - - - - - - -
2000 - - - - - 1 - 2 1 -
TOTAL 1999 0 0 0 0 25 2 2 60 20 0
2000 0 0 0 2 21 5 2 53 15 0
 
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BIAS INCIDENT OFFENSES BY COUNTY

1999/2000

 
Criminal Mischief Damage to PropertyThreat of Weapons Offenses Sex Offenses Terroristic Threats Trespass Disorderly Conduct Harassment Desecration
of Venerated
All OtherBias Incidents TOTAL
Atlantic 1999 7 2 - - 3 - - 8 - - 27
2000 4 - - - 1 - - 6 - - 13
Bergen 1999 25 4 - 1 4 - - 20 - 1 62
2000 25 3 - - - - - 40 - - 84
Burlington 1999 20 1 - - 1 - - 7 - 1 37
2000 13 1 - - 2 - - 7 - - 27
Camden 1999 32 4 - - 2 - - 30 - - 77
2000 22 - 2 - 1 - - 12 - - 46
Cape May 1999 4 - - - - - - 2 - - 10
2000 2 - - - 1 - - 2 - - 7
Cumberland 1999 3 1 - - - - - 3 - - 12
2000 3 - - - 4 - - 13 - - 22
Essex 1999 12 2 - - 5 - - 7 - 3 31
2000 15 1 - - 3 - - 8 - - 34
Gloucester 1999 6 1 - - 3 - - 17 - - 35
2000 14 3 - - 4 - 1 19 - - 45
Hudson 1999 5 - - - - - - 2 - - 10
2000 2 1 - - 1 - - 2 - - 10
Hunterdon 1999 5 - - - - - - 4 - 1 11
2000 4 - - - 2 - - 3 - - 9
Mercer 1999 16 2 - - 2 - - 14 1 1 40
2000 16 1 - - 5 - - 20 - - 48
Middlesex 1999 35 4 - - 4 - - 20 - 4 73
2000 30 3 - - 5 - - 16 - - 58
Monmouth 1999 20 1 - - 3 - - 18 - 1 52
2000 23 6 - - 2 - - 19 - 1 56
Morris 1999 24 2 - - 1 - - 22 - 1 56
2000 18 3 - - - - - 23 - 1 48
Ocean 1999 17 1 - - 5 - - 15 - - 43
2000 21 - - - 1 - - 24 - - 58
Passaic 1999 9 1 - - 1 - 1 7 - 1 33
2000 7 1 - - 6 - - 12 - - 32
Salem 1999 3 - - 1 2 - - 1 - - 7
2000 3 - - - - - 1 3 - - 8
Somerset 1999 21 - - - - - - 8 - 1 34
2000 48 - - - - - - 9 - - 61
Sussex 1999 3 - - - 1 - - 2 - - 11
2000 2 - - - - - - 5 - - 8
Union 1999 8 1 - - - - - 2 - - 15
2000 16 - - - - - - 5 - - 23
Warren 1999 2 - - - - - - 1 - - 3
2000 4 1 - - - - - 4 - - 13
TOTAL 1999 277 27 0 2 37 0 1 210 1 15 679
2000 292 24 2 0 38 0 2 252 0 2 710
 
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VICTIM/OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS

2000

 
VICTIM OFFENDER
AGE
10 and under 14 2
11 to 17 106 112
18 to 20 37 27
21 to 25 37 20
26 to 30 29 24
31 to 35 31 15
36 to 40 47 34
41 to 45 27 20
46 to 50 23 14
51 to 60 21 7
61 and over 13 9
TOTAL AGE 385 284
SEX
Male 244 241
Female 141 43
TOTAL SEX 385 284
RACE
American Indian - -
Asian 50 6
Black 172 37
White 163 241
Other - -
TOTAL RACE 385 284
 
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BIAS INCIDENT SUMMARY

2000

 
Description of Incident Place of Occurrence Relationship of Victim to Offender
Swastika 86 Residence 197 Acquaintance 65
Cross Burning - Religious Building 24 Neighbor 62
Graffiti 173 Government Building 26 Employee 6
In Person 290 School Building 129 Stranger 157
Letters 52 Business Establishment 88 Unknown 350
Telephone 46 Cemetery - Other 70
Other 63 Motor Vehicle 53
Highway 93
Parking Lot 43
Other 57
TOTAL 710 TOTAL 710 TOTAL 710
 
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TYPE OF BIAS

 
 
RACIAL RELIGIOUS ETHNIC SEXUAL OTHER
American Indian 1 Catholic 5 Arab 5 Bisexual 3 Gender -
Asian 20 Hindu 6 Asian Indian 22 Heterosexual(F) - Handicap: 3
Black 298 Islamic 1 Hispanic 40 Heterosexual(M) 2  (1) Physical 1
White 37 Jewish 202 Oriental 11 Homosexual(F) 5  (2) Mental 2
Other - Protestant 2 Other 11 Homosexual(M) 31
Other 3 Homosexual(M&F) 2
TOTAL 356 TOTAL 219 TOTAL TOTAL 43 TOTAL 3
 
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BIAS INCIDENTS BY DAY OF WEEK

1999/2000

 
 
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BIAS INCIDENT BY MONTH

1999/2000

 
 
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