TAMPA, Fla. — The FBI released an updated report of hate crimes for 2020 on Monday. The agency found a spike in anti-Asian incidents since the year prior.
Asian Americans received a 73 percent increase in hate crimes in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the report. That's 279 reports nationwide compared to 161 the year prior.
"We are all Americans," Mariben Espiritu Andersen with Tampa Bay's chapter president of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. "We are all people with feelings and we all deserve respect."
In Florida, the FBI reported 68 incidents of hate toward race or ethnicity in 2020 compared to 45 in 2019.
But those hate crimes numbers are likely much higher, Dr. Sylwia J. Piatkowska, Florida State University assistant professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, said.
"Official statistics don't really represent the big picture," Piatkowska said.
Piatkowska said fear from major events like the COVID-19 pandemic can trigger more people to commit hate crimes but she said it's a complicated picture.
Her research finds rhetoric from political leaders also play a major role in how the public perceives different groups of people. Historical dynamics against minorities also repeat themselves and play a role, she said.
In addition, Piatkowska said local law enforcement agencies are not always required to submit hate crime reports to the FBI, which contributes to underreporting.
"We cannot really address the issue of hate crime if we don’t know what’s going on," Piatkowska said.
She also said in some of FSU's research, Asian Americans are less likely to report these crimes. Andersen said that has largely to do with culture and is encouraging people to speak up if discriminated against.
"Be proud, be loud and bold that we are Asian Americans," Andersen said.
The overall number of hate crime incidents reported is the highest since 2001, which included a jump in hate crime incidents targeting Muslim Americans, according to CBS News.
The updated FBI report includes some data from Ohio after reports of a technical submission error. The FBI has since addressed the technical challenge in the state's reporting system, according to CBS News.
The overall number of hate crime incidents reported are the highest since 2001, which included a jump in hate crime incidents targeting Muslim Americans, CBS News reports.