The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) has released its annual report on hate crimes, and young white men have topped the list of victims as well as those who perpetrated hate crimes.

The report, released last week, utilized the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to collect its data.

In 2024, EOPSS received a total of 467 reports of hate crime incidents from 82 municipal police departments, 13 campus police agencies and the Massachusetts State Police.

The office also says 295 police agencies submitted so-called “zero reports,” which indicates the department had no bias-involved incidents to report.

EOPSS also found incidents motivated by race, ethnicity and national origin made up the largest category of hate crime incidents, with religious affiliation being the second-most prevalent, followed by hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation.

VICTIMS

The 2024 report found that white men made up the most victims of Massachusetts hate crimes.

The report found white people to be victims in 60.4% of cases where the race was reported, an increase from the 58.3% reported in 2023. African Americans came in second in this category, found to have been the victims of 33.3% of reported hate crimes. Of these victims, 63.9% were male.

When it comes to sex, men were found to be the victims of 68.9% of hate crimes, reporting a total of 267 incidents in 2024, while women made up 36.1%, reporting 151 incidents.

The report found the most common age groups reporting hate crimes were between 41 and 45 years old, making up 11.4% of all reports, with those between the ages of 21 and 25 reporting the second-most hate crimes against them, accounting for 10.7%.

PERPETRATORS

White men also made up the vast majority of perpetrators of hate crimes in 2024.

The EOPSS report found 70.9% of race-related hate crimes were caused by white people. This figure is slightly down from 2023, when white people were found to be behind 73% of the hate crimes reported. African Americans again place second in this category, with the demographic behind 25.6% of reported cases, a slight jump from the 24.2% reported in 2023.

Of these perpetrators, the vast majority were men with 77.4% of reported incidents last year identifying a male offender, up from 75.2% the year before. Women accounted for 22.6% of perpetrators, down slightly from 24.8% in 2023.

The report found the most frequently reported age group for offenders was between the ages 31 and 35. In 2023, the most frequent age group was between 11 and 15 years old.

MOTIVATORS

Race, ethnicity and national origin once again topped the list of motivators behind hate crimes in Massachusetts, making up 42.7% of reported incidents, followed by bias against religious groups reported in 34.3% of incidents, with sexual orientation being reported as a motivator for hate crimes 16.3% of the time.

Bias against religious groups saw the largest jump last year, growing to over a third of reported incidents from just 24.6% in 2023. Anti-Jewish incidents increased by 23.5% from 2023.

LOCATIONS AND TARGETS

The report found a variety of locations where Massachusetts hate crimes were reported, both in private and public settings. It found incidents occurring at a residence or home accounted for 26.8% of reports, followed by incidents reported on a highway or street at 14.6%. A combination of all categories of hate crimes reported at schools remained the exact same as 2023, with both years showing 13.3% of hate crimes happening in school settings.

Other locations with 10 or more reported incidents were also noted in the report, including religious houses of worship, parking garages, government and other public buildings, commercial and office buildings, and parks and playgrounds.

Individuals and private property were the primary targets for hate crimes in 2024, making up 77% of reports, essentially unchanged 77.7% in 2023. Businesses and government buildings were the second most frequent targets in 2024, accounting for 7.9% of reports.

Religious locations were reported 30 times, or in 6.2% of incidents, down from the 35 reported in 2023, but a significant increase from the 15 reported in 2022.

When it comes to cities and towns with the most reported hate crime incidents, Boston is unsurprisingly at the top as the state’s most populated city.

Boston ended 2024 with a total of 149 reported hate crimes, more than three times than the 43 incidents reported by police in Newton, and the 34 reports filed in Cambridge. Only three other municipalities reported over 10 hate crimes, with Natick reporting 12 in 2024, followed by Danvers and Salem with 10 each.

EOPSS notes that a hate crime is not reported as a standalone offense, but rather “as part of a separate criminal violation, ranging from vandalism to harassment to violent crimes.”

TYPES OF OFFENSES

Of the 481 hate crime offenses reported in 2024, EOPSS says the most frequent were vandalism, which made up 38% of incidents. Reports involving intimidation accounted for 21% of hate crimes, with simple assault and aggravated assault both accounting for a significant portion of offenses, sitting at 19.3% and 12.9%, respectively. There were no reports of bias-motivated homicides, after reporting two in 2021.

Historically, EOPSS says vandalism and intimidation have been the top two offenses reported during hate crime incidents, accounting for about 30% of offenses in recent years.