Hate crimes skyrocket in NJ — These towns had the most
At least 495 crimes committed in New Jersey last year were motivated by prejudice.
The number of reported hate crimes increased by 75 percent from 2016 to 2017 in the Garden State, according to data released by the FBI.
The highest numbers of hate crimes were tallied in Woodbury (33), East Brunswick (24), Lakewood (22), Evesham (18) and Princeton (15). The full list is below.
"When we have political leaders in this country who encourage intolerance and hatred — or in other cases ignore or countenance it — then it is not surprising that we see these results," state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. "As individuals and as a society, we need to push back against this prejudice, embracing our rich diversity and spreading a message of tolerance and unity."
Below are the jurisdictions in New Jersey — municipalities, college campuses and county police forces — that reported at least one hate crime last year.
| Race | Faith | Sexuality | Disability | Gender | Total | |
| Woodbury | 27 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 33 |
| Rutgers-New Brunswick | 4 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| East Brunswick | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Lakewood Township | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Evesham Township | 10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| Princeton | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Howell Township | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Edison Township | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Keansburg | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Englewood | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Hackensack | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Vineland | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Manalapan Township | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Randolph Township | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Medford Township | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Neptune Township | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Aberdeen | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Cinnaminson Township | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Franklin Lakes | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Hoboken | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ocean Twp (Monmouth) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| South Orange Village | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| State Police | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Hamilton (Mercer) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Hanover Township | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Lodi | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Moorestown Township | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Montclair State U. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Highland Park | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Hillsborough Township | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ridgewood | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| South Brunswick | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Toms River Township | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| East Hanover Township | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Freehold Township | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Hopewell Township | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Livingston Township | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Madison | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Maple Shade Township | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Monroe (Middlesex) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| New Brunswick | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Passaic | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Robbinsville Township | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Teaneck Township | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Princeton University | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Bergenfield | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bradley Beach | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brick Township | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Colts Neck Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Deal | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Delanco Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dover | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| East Orange | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Fort Lee | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Haddon Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Haworth | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hightstown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lawrence (Mercer) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Magnolia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Manasquan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Medford Lakes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Middlesex Borough | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Montclair | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mount Olive Township | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Newton | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Old Bridge Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oradell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Palmyra | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Paramus | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ramsey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Stone Harbor | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Washington (Gloucester) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Waterford Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Weehawken Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Westampton Township | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| West Long Branch | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| West Windsor | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Willingboro Township | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Woodbridge Township | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rutgers-Newark | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Stockton University | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bergen County | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Belmar | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Belvidere | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Berkeley Heights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Berkeley Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Boonton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bridgeton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bridgewater Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brigantine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Burlington Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Carteret | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chatham | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chatham Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Collingswood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Eastampton Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| East Windsor Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Eatontown | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Egg Harbor Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Elizabeth | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Elmwood Park | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Emerson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Fair Lawn | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Franklin (Somerset) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Freehold Borough | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hackettstown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Haddonfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Harrison Township | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| High Bridge | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Interlaken | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jefferson Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jersey City | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kinnelon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lindenwold | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lopatcong Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lumberton Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Manchester Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mansfield (Warren) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mantua Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Maplewood Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Metuchen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Millburn Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Monmouth Beach | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Montvale | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mount Laurel Township | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mullica Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| North Bergen Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Northfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oakland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Old Tappan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paulsboro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsville Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pequannock Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Piscataway Township | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Plainfield | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Point Pleasant | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pompton Lakes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| River Edge | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Roselle Park | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Shrewsbury | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Plainfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South River | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Springfield (Union) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Summit | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tenafly | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trenton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Union City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Union Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Verona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Voorhees Township | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Washington (Warren) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| West New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wildwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cape May County | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Warren County | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Nationally, hate crimes jumped 17 percent from year to year.
Unlike crime in general, where the most common target is property, hate crimes overwhelmingly target a person or persons.
Intimidation accounted for 310 of New Jersey's hate crimes in 2017, FBI data show — up from 179 in 2016. Last year's count also included 12 aggravated or simple assaults, and 173 cases of destruction/damage/vandalism.
"Hate crime gets at one's identity; it gets at one's identity characteristics that are, for the most part, unchangeable," said Susan Fahey, associate professor of criminal justice at Stockton University.
And the number of hate crimes reported is likely a far cry from the number of hate crimes actually perpetrated, Fahey said.
"We don't always know whether something is a hate crime because the offender doesn't tell us," she said, noting there's also a likelihood of under-reporting on the victim's side.
According to the FBI, more than half of the hate crime victims nationally were targeted because of their race, ethnicity or ancestry. Religion was the second-most common reason, followed by sexual orientation.
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