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AP Investigation: Hate Crimes Reporting Patchy in Ohio
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An investigation by The Associated Press has identified more than 16 percent of police agencies in Ohio that have not filed a single hate crime report to the FBI in past six years.
Ohio’s numbers fall in line with national statistics. The AP investigation showed more than 2,700 city police and county sheriff’s departments have not filed a single hate crime report with the FBI during those years. That’s about 17 percent. Other agencies have reported them only sporadically.
Advocates worry that the lack of a comprehensive annual accounting allows society to overlook the extent of racism and other bias at a time of heightened racial, religious and ethnic tensions.
In Ohio, 136 of the state’s 843 local law enforcement agencies haven’t filed a hate crime report.