ATLANTA (AP) — An investigation by The Associated Press found that thousands of police agencies nationwide do not file hate crime reports to the FBI or do so rarely.
While most are in smaller towns, one metropolitan area illustrates the FBI’s challenge in trying to draw a comprehensive picture of hate crimes nationwide.
Atlanta and its suburbs are home to 5.5 million people and represent one of the most diverse regions of the country. And yet the area’s record of filing hate crime reports is spotty.
The DeKalb County Police, Fulton County Police, Gwinnett County Police and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s departments were missing years’ worth of data.
Meanwhile, hate crimes are not even included in the state’s annual crime report. Georgia is one of five states without their own hate crimes law.
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