Crimes motivated by bias or prejudice against a person’s perceived or actual characteristics are referred to as hate crimes.
Eight characteristics are protected by federal hate crime legislation — race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability status — and states and localities can add additional categories. From 2018 to 2023, the Houston Police Department reported an average of about 39 hate crimes per year. From 2019 to 2022, the Harris County Sheriff's Office reported an average of about 15 hate crimes per year.
Approximately 5,000 Houston and Harris County residents were surveyed in summer 2023 about their experiences being the victim of a crime or other unwanted incident (e.g., harassment, physical assault, damage to property, verbal abuse or cyberbullying), and whether they perceived those experiences being motivated by bias or prejudice. Residents who reported being the victim of a perceived hate crime were also asked if they reported the incident to the police or other local law enforcement, and if not, what stopped them from reporting.
Key Findings
- About 47% of residents said they had been the victim of a crime or incident in Houston or Harris County at some point in their lives.
- Among victims, 69% believed the crime or incident was motivated by bias or prejudice. The most commonly cited reasons were race or ethnicity (46%), skin color (40%) and gender (37%).
- Nearly three-quarters of individuals (73%) who said they were a victim of a perceived hate crime reported it to someone, such as a family member or friend, neighbor or community member and/or the police.
- Among residents who did not report their experience to anyone, nearly two-thirds (66%) said they chose not to report it because they believed nothing would be done about it.
