The Salt Lake City Division of the FBI has issued a public service announcement encouraging people to report hate crimes after 2022 showed an increase in hate crime incident reports in Utah.
The public service announcement was available in several different languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Persian-Afghan (Dari), Persian-Iranian (Farsi), Pashto-Afghani, Somali and Spanish. In a press release Wednesday, the FBI said it intended this public campaign to reach different members of the community.
Some communities have faced increases in harassment and intimidation, Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha said. “We understand some people may be scared or hesitant to come forward to law enforcement for whatever reason, but I want to assure you the FBI is here to serve all communities and keep us all safe.”
Community organizations of all kinds like religious groups and refugee service providers across the Beehive State will receive the public service announcement.
“Crimes motivated by hate and bigotry have no place in our society, and we won’t tolerate them,” Sinha said. “The FBI works with our law enforcement partners to ensure everyone, regardless of race, faith, sexual orientation, or disability, feels secure and protected.”
The latest data from the FBI as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program recorded 104 incidents with 153 victims in the state. The data comes from 135 of 147 agencies that voluntarily submitted data. 2021 had lower numbers, with 88 reported incidents and 119 reported victims.
Race/ethnicity/ancestry bias incidents made up 43% of 2022’s reported incidents. Bias incidents on the basis of sexual orientation made up 34% of the total while religion composed 13%.