Hate Crime in Massachusetts
2022
Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety & Security
September 2023
 Massachusetts Hate Crimes, 2022
Executive Summary
Notes on Data
This report is written in accordance with Section 34 of Chapter 22C of the Massachusetts General Laws. The 2022 Hate Crime Report for Massachusetts
was compiled using data voluntarily supplied by police departments across the Commonwealth. The Executive Office of Public Safety & Security
(EOPSS) received a total of 440 reports of incidents of hate crime (up from 406 in 2021) from 91 municipal police departments, and 8 campus police
agencies. In addition, 282 agencies submitted “zero reports” (indicating that they had experienced no bias-motivated incidents) and there were 34 non-
reporting agencies. In 2022, reporting agencies and zero-reporting agencies covered approximately 98% of the population of Massachusetts. After
receipt and state data quality checks, EOPSS submits all Massachusetts hate crime data to the FBI for further analysis, verification, and inclusion in its
annual Hate Crime Statistics publication. EOPSS continues to verify and update hate crime reports after submission to the FBI, and as a result, the
data in this report may not match the FBI’s published data.
Data was collected utilizing the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Year 2020 was the last year that the FBI collected UCR or
Summary Reporting System (SRS) data, fully transitioning to NIBRS for the 2021 data collection. Agencies report Hate Crimes by exporting data from
their records management system (RMS) in accordance with the FBI’s NIBRS program and uploading their files to EOPSS, or by manually entering
pertinent data fields through EOPSS’ Sidearm data portal. EOPSS then extracts the required data for analysis and forwards it to the FBI. It is important
to note that several of the categories displayed in this report are only available in NIBRS, so comparisons to prior years may be misleading or incomplete
as certain data elements were previously not captured via UCR.
Bias Motivation
A “hate crime,” which can be referred to interchangeably as a “bias crime” or “bias-related / motivated crime,” is not reported as a stand-alone offense,
but rather as part of a separate criminal violation, ranging from vandalism to harassment to violent crimes. Of the 458 hate crime offenses reported in
2022, the most frequent offenses were Vandalism / Damage / Destruction of Property (31.2%), which is often graffiti or the defacing of property and
Intimidation (30.1%). Simple Assault and Aggravated Assault incidents both had a significant portion of offenses accounting for 21.8% & 11.8%
respectively. In terms of violent crime, there were 54 bias-motivated Aggravated Assaults reported in 2022, which is up from the 43 reported in 2021.
In 2022, there were 0 bias-motivated homicides, after reporting 2 in 2021. Historically, Vandalism and Intimidation are the top two offenses reported
during bias incidents and in recent years have each accounted for approximately 30% of offenses. (See Table 1.)
In 2022, similar to years past, prejudice against race / ethnicity or national origin was the most widely reported bias motivation representing 53.2% of
the total (down from 59.3% in 2021). Bias against religious groups surpassed bias against sexual orientation with 21.1% (up from 18.2% in 2021).
Sexual orientation was third with 19.7% of the total (up from 18.6% in 2021). (See Figure 1 & Table 2.)
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Victims and Offenders
As in previous years, males were the most frequent victims (59.9% of known victims). This number has been in the 50-60% range for the past several
years whereas prior numbers reached 70% of victims being reported as male as recently as 2012. The known offenders of hate crimes continue to be
predominantly male with 82% of offenders identified as males. Females were victims in 40.1% of incidents where the sex of the victim was identified.
Females as a percentage of offenders where sex was determined accounted for 18% (down from 20.8% in 2021). (For a breakdown of victims and
offenders by gender, please refer to Tables 14 and 16.) When the race of the victim was determined by NIBRS agencies, whites were the most frequent
racial category as victims 56% (up from 50.5% in 2021). White offenders accounted for 72.8% of known offenders (down from 74.5% in 2021).
African American victims of both genders comprised 35,7% of the total victim population (down from 39.6% the previous year). African American
offenders comprised 24.5% of offenders (up from 23.4% the previous year). (See Table 15.)
Victims were reported to have some type of injury in 15.9% of cases. This is an increase as compared to last year’s 14.2% and past years, where typical
numbers hover around the 7-8% of incidents resulting in some injury. Of the 70 total injuries, 16 resulted in a major injury of some type which is an
increase from 15 in 2021. (See Table 17.)
Location
Bias incidents reported by police agencies in Massachusetts occur in a variety of locations, both public and private. In 2022, 28.3% of incidents
occurred at a residence or home, while an additional 19.2% occurred on a highway or street. Combining all school categories resulted in 13.6%, which
is an increase from the 10.6% from 2021. (See Table 11.) Other location types with 10 or more incidents were other / unknown; restaurant; church /
synagogue / temple mosque; drug store / doctor’s office / hospital; commercial / office building; parking / drop lot / garage; park / playground;
Religious locations were reported 15 times or in 3.3% of incidents, up from the 8 incidents reported in 2021.
Targets
Individuals and private property were the primary targets for hate crimes in the Commonwealth, with 80.8% of the reports, up from 80.2% in 2021.
Business targets were the second most frequent target in 2022 with 6.7% of the reports. Government targets were reported in 5.8% of incidents (See
Table 10.)
Hate Crimes Historical Perspective
Over the past 20 years, the numbers and the categories of bias motivations have remained fairly consistent. Between 2000 and 2002, approximately
500 bias motivations were reported each year. From 2003 through 2018, the number declined to an average of about 360 incidents per year and has
remained extremely consistent over this extended period. Over this time-period, the most frequently reported bias motivations have remained similar:
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Anti-Black bias has consistently been most frequent, followed by Anti-Gay, Anti-Semitic and Anti-White. The 440 incidents reported in 2022 were
the highest reported since 2002.
Counts of Incidents and Offenses 2014 - 2022
Crime Count 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Average
Incidents 415 411 389 427 351 376 385 406 440 400.0
Offenses 429 424 411 438 390 421 395 424 458 421.1
Definitions
Hate Crime Any criminal act to which a bias motive is evident as a contributing factor. The MA Hate Crime Reporting Act of 1991
covers bias on account of race, religion, ethnicity, handicap, gender, or sexual orientation. Hate crimes can be reported
only by law enforcement agencies. See M.G.L. c. 22C, § 32 for more details.
Zero Report An official report by a police department stating no hate crimes were reported to the department during the reporting
period.
Non-reporting agencies Local police departments, and other law enforcement agencies, which are not in compliance with the provisions of the
Reporting Act. These agencies failed to indicate how many, if any, bias crimes occurred in their jurisdiction.
Reporting agencies Local police departments, as well as other law enforcement agencies, who have voluntarily reported the incidence of
identified bias crimes in their jurisdiction. Agencies can comply with the Reporting Act by reporting the number of bias
crimes, even if zero.
Reports by Law Enforcement Agencies
In the statistics that follow, it should be noted that a single incident report may include multiple offenses, bias motivations, victims or offenders. As a
result, totals in some categories may exceed the number of reports. Similarly, some reports omit information in certain categories, resulting in totals
lower than the number of incident reports collected.
Hate crimes were reported by a total of 99 different law enforcement agencies. A total of 440 hate crime reports were filed by these agencies, which
included 458 separate offenses and 483 reported biases. Boston reported 159 hate crimes in 2022 (up from 113 in 2021). Other agencies that reported
10 or more hate crimes were: Cambridge (48), Newton (20), Quincy (13), and Lynn (10). (See Figure 7 and Table 19.)
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 Categories of Bias Reported
Of the 483 bias motivations for particular incidents reported, race / ethnicity / national origin bias constituted the largest category of reported motives,
with 53.2% of the total (down from 59.3% in 2021). Offenses related to religious affiliation were the second most prevalent, with 21.1% (up from
15.7% in 2021). Offenses motivated by sexual orientation were the third most frequent category, with 19.7% of the total (up from 18.2% in 2021).
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 Categories of Crimes Reported
Of the 458 total offenses reported, Vandalism / Destruction of Property was the most frequently reported with 143 offenses, representing 31.2% of the
total. Intimidation was the second most frequently reported offense, with 138 incidents representing 30.1% of the total offenses. Assaults also formed
a significant portion of incidents, accounting for 21.8% and 11.8% respectively. Combining Aggravated and Simple Assaults would yield 154 assaults
where offenders physically confronted a victim, which is an increase compared to last year’s total of 118.
* Please note: Categories with only 1 incident are not displayed in Figure 2 but can be
found in Table 1.
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 Victim and Offender Profile
An Individual / Person (including private property) was the target in 80.8% of cases (up from 80.2% in 2021). Business targets were second, with
6.7% (up from 5.9%). Government targets were the third most frequently targeted group with 5.8% of the incidents (down from 8.7% in 2021).
Religious targets were chosen in 8 incidents or 1.5% of incidents (up from 1.2% the previous year).
In the 361 NIBRS incidents where the victim’s race was reported, whites were victims 56% of the time (up from 50.5% in 2021), while African
Americans were victims in 35.7% of cases (up from 39.6% in 2021). In the incidents where the victim’s gender was reported, the victims were male in
59.9% of cases. This year, the most common age group reporting hate crimes was 31-35-year-olds (12.2%), however, the 65+ group had to be broken
down to 61-65 and 66+ as both groups had over 6% and leaving this group as 60+ as in years past would have made this the most frequent category.
(See Table 8 & 13.)
The perpetrators of hate crimes were white in 72.8% of cases (down from 74.5% in 2021) and African American in 24.5% of cases (up from 23.4% in
2021), in the 323 cases where this information was identified. The perpetrator was male in 82% of known cases (up from 79.2% in 2021), and of the
cases where the offender(s)’s age group was identified, the most frequently reported age group was 11-15 with 11.1%. This is different than years past
where the larger groups were in the 30-40 range. Again, the oldest age group was expanded upon to 61-65 and 66+, as the 60+ would have been the
largest group with over 12.7%.
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8 Massachusetts Hate Crime, 2022 | EOPSS
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 * Please note: For a full listing of Hate Crimes by Jurisdiction, please see Table 19.
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 Characteristics of the Incidents
The most common location for hate crime incidents to occur in 2022 was a residence / home (28.3%, up from 25.2% in 2021); followed by highway /
road / street / sidewalk (19.2%,) and other (7.9%). (See Table 11.)
Weapons of some type were reported in 132 incidents, which is down from 134 in 2021. In cases where the type of weapon was identified, hands / fist
/ feet were used the most frequently (54.5%, up from 38.1% in 2021). Other weapons were the second most frequently identified, listed in 23.5% of
cases. Some type of firearm was utilized in 4 incidents, where in 2021, a firearm was used in 11 incidents. (See Table 12.)
In 2022, there were 70 incidents where injuries were reported. Minor injuries were reported in 54 incidents. This year, there were some other major
injuries. There were 4 lacerations, 2 internal injuries, 9 other major injuries and 1 incident where a victim lost teeth. (See Table 17.)
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 Appendix
Table 1. Crimes Commited During Bias Incidents
Hate Crimes Total % of Total
Destruction/Vandalism 143 31.2%
Intimidation 138 30.1%
Simple Assault 100 21.8%
Aggravated Assault 54 11.8%
All Other Larceny 6 1.3%
Robbery 5 1.1%
Theft From Building 5 1.1%
Arson 1 0.2%
Burglary/Breaking & Entering 1 0.2%
Counterfeiting/Forgery 1 0.2%
Extortion/Blackmail 1 0.2%
False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game 1 0.2%
Shoplifting 1 0.2%
Theft From Motor Vehicle 1 0.2%
Grand Total 458 100.0%
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 Table 2. Bias Types Reported to Police
Bias Types Total % of Total
Anti-White 22 4.6%
Anti-Black or African American 158 32.7%
Anti-Asian 30 6.2%
Anti-American Indian or Alaska Native 1 0.2%
Anti-Other Race 13 2.7%
Subtotal Anti-Race 224 46.4%
Anti-Arab 7 1.4%
Anti-Hispanic or Latino 21 4.3%
Anti-Other Race / Ethnicity / Ancestry 5 1.0%
Subtotal Anti-Ethnicity 33 6.8%
Anti-Jewish 70 14.5%
Anti-Catholic 9 1.9%
Anti-Islamic (Muslim) 13 2.7%
Anti-Hindu 3 0.6%
Anti-Other Religion 7 1.4%
Subtotal Anti-Religion 102 21.1%
Anti-Gay 60 12.4%
Anti-Lesbian 16 3.3%
Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (Mixed Group) 1 0.2%
Anti-Bisexual 3 0.6%
Anti-Other Sexual Orientation 15 3.1%
Subtotal Anti-Sexual Orientation 95 19.7%
Subtotal Anti-Disability 0 0.0%
Anti-Female 5 1.0%
Subtotal Anti-Gender 5 1.0%
Anti-Transgender 14 2.9%
Anti-Gender Non-Conforming 10 2.1%
Subtotal Anti-Gender Identity 24 5.0%
Total 483 100.0%
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 Table 3. Bias Type for Reported Offenses
Destruction Theft
Simple Aggravated All Other Burglary / False