Mayor Muriel Bowser and MPD Chief Peter Newsham announced an uptick in hate crimes at the 6th and I Synagogue. (Photo by Rachel Sadon)

The nation’s capital saw a marked increase in hate crimes last year, particularly crimes related to ethnicity or national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation. In total, bias-related crimes rose 62 percent in 2016 from the year prior, according to newly released statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department.

“It is disturbing for us to see an increase in reported hate crimes. Although it is only a small fraction of the overall crime in our city, we think it is important for people to know about this increase so we can collectively work to address this,” said Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham, who has been nominated as the permanent chief, pending council approval. “We will not accept this as the new norm.”

Hate crimes related to ethnicity or national origin quadrupled last year, those related to religion tripled, those related to gender identity or expression nearly doubled, and those related to sexual orientation increased by about 50 percent.

In total, hate crimes increased from 66 incidents in 2015 to 107 incidents in 2016.

“You deserve a city that values inclusion and diversity and that’s what we will continue to be. Those are D.C. values,” Bowser said, flanked by members of the faith community, police officers, LGBTQ activists, and others on the stage at the 6th and I Synagogue.

Of the 18 reported incidents of bias-related crimes related to religion (up from 5 the year prior), 12 were directed at the Jewish community.

Neighboring Montgomery County—where both Jewish and Islamic institutions have received bomb threats in recent weeks—has also seen a 42 percent increase in hate crimes, from 66 in 2015 to 94 in 2017.

Although the D.C. area saw an anecdotal increase in hate-related incidents—not all of which rose to the level of a crime—in the months around the election, the increase in hate crimes was distributed evenly throughout the year.

“We’ve seen a steady increase throughout the year. A lot of people pointed to the election, but that’s not the case,” Newsham said.

Both Bowser and Newsham said the uptick could potentially be attributed people becoming more comfortable in reporting hate-related crimes to MPD after years of working to build trust with the community. But Newsham also couldn’t rule out the role of the current political climate, and the rhetoric of the 18 month campaign that preceded it. “It could be because people have become more emboldened because of things we have seen nationally,” Newsham said.

D.C.’s Office of Human Rights, which investigates discrimination complaints related to housing, employment, education, public accommodations, pregnancy, and language access, has not seen any significant change in the number or type of complaints filed in the past year.

Amid a national debate about bathroom access and the Trump administration’s decision to roll-back Obama era guidance for schools, the city’s transgender community continues to face high levels of discrimination.

“We continue to hear about incidents where transgender and gender non-conforming people face violence and harassment when attempting to access a bathroom or other gender-specific space,” OHR Director Monica Palacio said, issuing a reminder that gender identity and expression has been a protected class in D.C. since 2006, and the city has a law on the books allowing to use whatever bathroom corresponds with their gender identity.

“We remain committed to doubling our efforts to protect our transgender community,” Bowser added.

Palacio said the office will be releasing a comprehensive list of resources available to respond to hate crimes or discrimination.

Newsham also sought to reassure the community that officers won’t ask about a person’s immigration status. And he said that MPD’s special liaison branch, which has units dedicated to the Asian, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, LGBTQ, Latino, and African communities, have been brought directly under his office. “I knew we had to send a message that MPD’s values have not and will not change.”