For Immediate Release
Primary Press Contact: Mark Reading-Smith
Sikh Coalition Senior Media & Communications Director
Mark@sikhcoalition.org, 202-380-8489
Secondary Press Contact: Jagmeet Singh
Sikh Coalition Senior Media & Communications Manager
Jagmeet@sikhcoalition.org, 919-260-5500
Sikhs Implore Action & Accountability In Response To New FBI Hate Crime Stats
November 13, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – This morning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released another alarming, but still flawed annual report on hate crime in the United States.
The FBI report details hate crimes rising in 2017 for the third consecutive year with 8,437 hate crime offenses, including 24 anti-Sikh hate crimes. The 243% increase in anti-Sikh hate crimes and overall 16.7% increase since the 2016 report underscores that hate in America continues to surge. However, due to systemic underreporting, there remains a significant gap between FBI hate crime data and the reality on the ground for Sikhs and other minority communities across the United States. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics 2017 report, Americans experienced an average of 250,000 hate crimes per year from 2004-2015.
Since 2001, the Sikh Coalition - the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the U.S. - has provided free legal representation to hundreds of Sikh community members in hate-related cases. Since the run up to the 2016 presidential election, the organization has averaged one hate-related legal intake every month and estimates that since 2001, Sikhs remain hundreds of times more likely to experience hate crimes than the average American.
“While everybody should be horrified by these jaw-dropping statistics, these numbers still fail to paint a complete picture of the enormity of the problem,” said Sikh Coalition Legal Director, Amrith Kaur. “We need better training for law enforcement to identify hate crimes when they occur and we must make federal hate crime reporting mandatory for all law enforcement agencies.”
In 2017, the Sikh Coalition organizationally received 12 anti-Sikh hate crime cases and tracked a total of 24 anti-Sikh hate-related incidents nationwide. This figure alone is under representative of the problem since many individuals impacted by hate do not report the incidents. For the reported cases to law enforcement, a historical challenge is that agencies routinely fail to identify bias during investigations. Even when they do, they often do not report it to federal authorities, so the data never shows up in the statistics.
“Even with incomplete data, this new report shows our elected officials that hate in America is thriving and profoundly impacting the safety and well-being of minority communities nationwide,” said Sikh Coalition Senior Advocacy Manager, Sim J. Singh. “Politicians are culpable when they drive divisive policies and bigoted political rhetoric that routinely puts lives at greater risk.”
There are approximately 500,000 Sikhs in the United States. In the wake of the 2012 Oak Creek, Wisconsin massacre inside a Sikh gurdwara (house of worship), the FBI finally agreed to begin tracking anti-Sikh hate crimes in 2015. In response to the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting in 2015, the Sikh Coalition launched a nationwide gurdwara security initiative designed to better ensure security in Sikh houses of worship. In the wake of the recent shooting at a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this critical security project remains ongoing.
“Americans are not even safe from hate in their own sacred houses of worship,” said Mr. Singh. “How many more people have to die at the hands of white extremist violence before our government starts allocating the resources necessary to effectively combat and prevent future hate crimes?”
The Sikh Coalition is the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United State and has 17 years of legal and policy expertise on issues related to hate crimes. For interviews, please contact Mark Reading-Smith or Jagmeet Singh. For more background information on the Sikh community, faith and traditions please check out our Sikhism Reporter’s Guide.