The FBI says 7,163 hate crimes were reported in 2005. Hate crimes are defined as incidents based upon bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or physical or mental disability. The agency said 54.7 percent of the incidents were motivated by racial bias, 17.1 percent by religious bias, 14.2 percent by sexual-orientation bias, and 13.2 percent by ethnicity/national origin bias.
Of the 6,804 known offenders reported in 2005, 60.5 percent were white and 19.9 percent black. Thirty percent of the incidents occurred in or near residences or homes, 18.3 percent on highways or streets and 13.5 percent at schools. The FBI link connects with the agency’s hate crime report home page.