NYPD says the crimes were fueled by anti-Asian discrimination.
The New York Police Department said on Tuesday that hate crimes in the five boroughs went up 100% in 2021.
The NYPD said there were 503 reported hate crimes this year as of December 5, up from 252 in 2020 — a 100% increase, in a statement they posted on Twitter.
"On the flip side of that, which shows the great work our hate crimes task force is doing, our arrests are up 106%. So on that 503 incidents, we've made 249 arrests on that," NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a press conference.
The NYPD say the spike has been driven by crimes against the Asian community, where there's been a 361% increase with 129 incidents this year in comparison to 28 in 2020.
Anti-Semitic crimes were also up to 183 in comparison from 121 in 2020, the NYPD said.
"We have to shine a very bright light on this, and then making sure that everyone knows that when you do something like this, number one, you'll be held accountable. But number two, it's not acceptable, not only in this city, but anywhere," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at Tuesday’s press conference.
The uptick is believed to be over the state’s 2019 bail reform policy, Fox News reported.
Two years ago, the state’s lawmakers passed major changes to the Empire State’s bail laws that restrict crimes where judges can set bail, Fox News reported.
"When you have mass amounts of people put back on the streets that have traditionally been held in jail, you're seeing some of that permeate here as well. I mean, that's just a fact. It's a fact that people don't want to talk about, but when you ... have people that have no regard for others, and expecting them to change their behavior dramatically. It's not working out," Shea added Tuesday.
Some New Yorkers spoke to CBS News about the rise in hate crimes and they said they are alarmed.
The NYPD added that there were 85 crimes over sexual orientation, up from 29 last year which parallels that statistics that this year will be the deadliest year yet for transgender people living in America, according to a November report by the Human Rights Campaign.
The advocacy group says that since January 1, 2021, 47 trans people have been killed in America, as of November 22.
Prior to 2021, last year was the deadliest year for transgender or gender non-conforming people in America. The advocacy group added that the true total number of victims could be even higher, as "too often these deaths go unreported — or misreported."
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