The midterm elections have dominated the news for the past few months, but a string of racist, sexist, anti-semitic, and otherwise hate-motivated violence has been the other big story. With several attacks in such a short period of time, it can feel like a major uptick in hate crimes.
But data on hate crimes is spotty, making it hard to see trends and know how prevalent this kind of violence is. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are hoping to change that. They’re launching a three-year nationwide survey of law enforcement officials funded by the federal Department of Justice.
Lisa Jones is a research associate professor of psychology at UNH’s Crimes against Children Research Center and lead investigator for the new study. She spoke to Living Lab Radio about the topic.