FBI: Hate Crimes Almost Nonexistent in Concord

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released both local and statewide hate crime statistics and found that hate crimes in Concord were almost non-existent in 2010, with only 31 reported incidents in the entire state.

Hate crimes are described as a crime when the perpetrator targets the victim based on ethnicity, religion, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other memberships.

According to the FBI’s figures, which are based on reports from the , the city had one reported hate crime incident in the third quarter of 2010, an incident were the bias motivation was the victim’s sexual orientation.

Acting-Chief , of the Concord Police Department, said the city was not a magnet for hate crimes.

“I can tell you that, anecdotally, we don’t have many hate crimes,” he said. “I can’t remember the last one prior to the . Locally, the incidents of targeted crime based on those protected areas are very few and far between.”

Duval said the demographic and population statistics are collected by the FBI from all the towns and states. Each community can then look at the number of incidents and then find remedies for the situations.

Concord residents, Duval said, for the most part, are concerned about “the little things,” like the crime rate in general, traffic, and quality of life issues.

“All of those things together, in my opinion, play into that,” he said. “[The residents] are not going to tolerate those types of things.”

Advocacy groups often speak out when there is an , he said, adding that, “I think our community represents the best of New Hampshire.”

Duval said the recent graffiti case was a good example, with law enforcement quickly acting and making a very public stand against the crime, “saying, this will not be tolerated,” noting that when caught, the people involved will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“That was the message then but it’s our approach on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Compared to many communities, Concord doesn’t have the level of crime that other communities have. People feel safe on the streets, he said.

“It’s a pretty good place to live,” Duval said.

While there is no hate crime law in the state of New Hampshire, there are enhanced penalties for hate crimes, according to Duval. In 2010, there were 11 racial and sexual orientation incidents in the Granite State, with six based on religion and three based on ethnicity, according to the report. The state's busiest areas for hate crimes included Manchester and Plymouth.