Reports of hate crimes in South Carolina increased during 2008, according to the FBI's annual report on hate crimes in the United States.
In 2008, 153 hate crime incidents were reported in South Carolina, up from 127 reported during the previous year, the FBI said.
Nationally, 7,783 incidents were reported, up from 7,624 in 2007, according to the FBI.
The FBI noted hate crime trends are hard to determine because the number of agencies participating changes each year and some police jurisdictions place a higher priority on reporting the crimes than others.
A hate crime is motivated by a bias against someone's race, religious views, sexual orientation, gender or disability. They can be committed against a person or against someone's property.
In 2008, South Carolina law enforcement reported a rise in hate crimes motivated by race, religion and sexual orientation. According to the FBI, The number of S.C. crimes reported in 2008 in each category were:
- Race: 89
- Religion: 27
- Sexual orientation: 22
The number of crimes in the state motivated by ethnicity or disabilities dropped in 2008, the FBI report said.
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