WASHINGTON — Maryland State Police say reports of hate and bias incidents have surged 40 percent.
The Baltimore Sun reported Friday that authorities fielded 285 such reports in 2016. There were 203 reports the previous year.
Of all those incidents, 114 of those were reported in the final quarter of last year.
November had by far the most incidents with 50 reports. At least 11 referenced Donald J. Trump.
For example, a white man allegedly pointed a gun at a Hispanic man in Montgomery County. Police said the white man threatened to kill the victim and his family. He allegedly said he voted for Trump and that the victim needed to leave the country.
In another example, an 11-year-old white boy in Anne Arundel County allegedly called two 13-year-old black boys racial slurs. Police said the white boy warned they would have to leave once Trump was elected.
Most of these incidents did not result in injuries.
Of the 5.6 percent of reported incidents where injuries did occur, most were minor. Two were severe, but there were no deaths linked to hate/bias events in Maryland last year.
Property damage linked to such happenings totaled more than $30,000. The most expensive damage was to cars, homes—including apartments, and houses of worship.
Montgomery and Baltimore Counties tallied the highest numbers of hate/bias incidents with 73 each. Meanwhile, Anne Arundel County reported 47 incidents and Howard County ended the year with 33 reports. All these counties saw an increase from the previous year along with Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, and Somerset Counties.
But Prince George’s was among eight other counties that saw a decrease in such formal complaints. Thirteen hate or bias incidents were reported there in 2016 compared with 28 the year before. The seven other counties reporting a decrease in these incidents were Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, St. Mary’s, Washington and Wicomico.
According to the report, most hate incidents throughout the state were based on race or religion and motivated by anti-Black and anti-Jewish sentiments.
Anti-Hispanic or Latino incidents surged from 3 in 2015 to 14 last year, a total of 4.9 percent of last year’s events. An equal number of hate/bias incidents were reported based on Anti-White or Anti-Male Gay sentiments. Nineteen were reported among each of these groups, each which comprises 6.7 percent of last year’s reports.
After law enforcement agencies investigated last year’s occurrences, 93 were verified (32.6 percent) and 13 (4.6 percent) were considered unfounded reports. The majority were deemed “inconclusive.”
However this report shows, even if an incident is verified, it does not automatically lead to arrests.
Last year, most verified hate incidents were based on race, ethnicity or ancestry. Of those 63 happenings, there were a total of nine arrests. But no perpetrators were taken into custody in connection with the verified incidents based on religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
