Bias incidents diminished in the county after a spike in 2017, falling by 30 cases in 2018, according to an annual report released by county police.
There were 93 reported bias incidents in 2018, down from 123 in 2017. Most of the crimes involved graffiti or vandalism. Police said they identified 53 culprits, many of them minors.
“There has been a decrease, but of course the department recognizes that any bias incident report profoundly impacts the community,” said Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti, a police spokeswoman. “Although we see a decrease, which is encouraging, we always are trying to eliminate reported bias incidents.”
There were 98 bias incidents in 2016, and the report attributes the 2017 spike to a rash of crimes in the months following the November 2016 presidential election, a trend that has largely subsided.
Hate crimes include incidents motivated in part by bias against a race, ethnicity, religion, sex, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or homelessness, according to the report.
Race and religion continue to be the leading causes in the county, accounting for 74 percent of bias motivation.
A similar percentage of bias incidents is attributed to race and religion at the national level, though the county’s division differs drastically from the nationwide mark. Race and religion motivated near identical rates of crime in the county, 38 percent and 36 percent in 2018, respectively. Race was the driving force behind 60 percent of incidents nationwide in 2017, while religion accounted for 21 percent of crimes.
The department has no conclusive evidence to explain the variance, Innocenti said.
Vandalism remains the most frequent type of bias incident, making up nearly a third of all crimes. Written intimidation is close behind at 25 percent, largely occurring through social media.
While many of the subjects identified by police were under the age of 18, those numbers are declining, and only nine of the 29 reported vandalisms occurred in or near a school.
Bias incidents can be difficult to investigate because there are often no witnesses, Innocenti said.
Since many of the suspects are under the age of 18, working with the youth is a priority for the department, ensuring they recognize the impact of their actions.
“Trying to have that conversation and education with these young people that might not understand the impact of their actions is something we need to continue to do, and that needs to be a community effort,” Innocenti said.
An increase in funding has been proposed in Maryland’s budget for programs that allow places of worship and schools to install additional security systems and boost education about hate and bias.
