Reported Hate Crimes at Lowest Level in Decade PodCast (12/24/2008)

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I’m Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.

Monday, my office released the 2007 Florida Hate Crimes Report, and I am pleased to announce that last year, reported hate crimes in Florida dropped to the lowest level in a decade.

A hate crime is a crime committed against someone based on their personal characteristics, such as race, religion or even age.

Since hate crime reporting began in 1990, Florida law enforcement agencies have reported an average of 272 hate crime incidents each year, well above this year’s total of 193.

Preventing hate crimes should be the goal of every citizen. I am proud of the roles the Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights has played in statewide efforts against hate-motivated crimes, and I know our efforts will continue.

I’m Bill McCollum, and this has been an update from the Attorney General’s Office.