Nashville, Tenn. – The State of Tennessee saw an increase in the number of hate crimes committed in the state and a decrease in the number of law enforcement officers killed or assaulted for the calendar year 2011, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s statistical analysis of Tennessee crime statistics and the compiling of two separate, annual reports.

The TBI released both “Tennessee Hate Crime 2011” and “Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA) 2011” based on required monthly reporting of local law enforcement agencies crime statistics across the state.

Bias motivated offenses were up nearly 51% to 261 offenses reported in 2011 compared with 173 in 2010.

Prior to 2011, a three year analysis of hate bias offenses showed a decline every year between 2008 and 2010. There were 1,810 LEOKA incidents reported in 2011 compared with 1,854 in 2010, a 2.4% decrease.

Hate Crime 2011 Highlights

* Reported victim to offender relationships revealed that approximately 58% of hate crime victims knew their offenders.
* About one in every three reported hate crimes were racially motivated at 36.5%.
* In 2011, males were victimized 5.5 times more often than females and intimidation was the most often reported crime against persons with 60 offenses.