State records show that hate crimes increased in Oregon in 2022

(JULY 7, 2023) In 2019, Oregon made a new law. One part of this law says that the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) must review and report on data about bias crimes and non-criminal bias incidents.  A bias crime is a hate crime. It is motivated by prejudice that occurs when someone targets a victim because of their membership of a certain social group or racial demographic, such as race, religion, or sexual orientation. 

On July 1, 2023, CJC published its fourth report, which includes data from the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.  The report uses information from different sources. It includes data from the Bias Response Hotline, which is a hotline set up by the Oregon Department of Justice to help people who have experienced bias crimes or incidents. It also includes data from the Oregon State Police, district attorneys' offices, the national Law Enforcement Data System, Oregon's Odyssey data system, and the Department of Corrections.

Here are some important things the report found:

1. The number of reports to the Hotline about bias crimes and incidents went up a lot. In 2020, there were 910 reports. In 2021, there were 1,457 reports, which is a 60% increase. In 2022, there were 2,534 reports, which is a 74% increase. Most of the reports were about bias against people of a certain race, especially Black/African American people.

2. There were also more reports of bias against people based on their national origin, like where they come from, and against Hispanic people. Reports of bias against religions, especially Jewish people, also went up. Reports of bias against people because of their gender identity or sexual orientation also increased.

3. There were fewer reports of bias against Asian people in 2022 compared to 2021, but it is still a concern.

4. There were more reports of bias crimes and incidents happening in K-12 schools. The relationship between the victim and the person responsible for the bias also changed. In 2022, more reports showed that the victim knew the person who targeted them.

5. Only a small percentage of people who were charged with bias crimes were convicted. Most of them were sentenced to probation and had to follow certain rules. They were also referred for mental health or substance abuse treatment.

Based on the findings, the Criminal Justice Commission made some recommendations:

1. 1. 1. The Hotline should work with specific community organizations and Native American tribes to share information and resources with different communities affected by bias crimes.

      2. The Hotline should continue working with the Department of Education to make sure school administrators and teachers know about their services. They should also find ways to reach out to younger victims of bias crimes.

      3. The state should create a special program to help people who commit bias crimes. They should also make sure to assess the program regularly to see if it's working.

      4. Victims of bias crimes might have a hard time trusting the justice system. The Department of Justice should provide a list of agencies that can help victims and make sure the information is available in different languages.

      5. There are some cases that cannot be charged as bias crimes because of gaps in the law. The Department of Justice should keep working to fix these gaps so that more cases can be prosecuted.