© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FBI Report Says Majority Of Oregon Hate Crimes Reported In Eugene

Photo submitted by Reverend Adam Briddell.

A city official is responding to an FBI report showing Eugene has the highest number of hate crimes in Oregon. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports. 

The FBI’s 2017 datashows Eugene with almost half of Oregon’s 149 reported crimes against race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation.  And an earlier report by the city shows a nearly 70 percent increase in hate crimes from 2016 to last year.

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
The City of Eugene's Human Rights and Equity Manager, Katie Babits, at today's EPD news conference.

“I do think that people should feel safe here in Eugene,” says Katie Babits.  She’s the city’s Human Rights and Equity Analyst.  

Babits acknowledges that Eugene is a largely homogenous community, and because of that not everyone is aware of hate crime activity.  She says there’s several reasons for the increase.

“There’s a chance that people may feel more empowered to act on their feelings of hate, and that could be contributing factor,” she tells KLCC. 

“Also our office has done a lot of community outreach with community organizations that support marginalized populations in Eugene. An effort to make sure that people are more aware.”

In other words, people may be more alert and more apt to recognize and report hate crimes.

The FBI’s latest report shows the City of Eugenewith 72 reported hate crimes in 2017.  


WEB EXTRA: Katie Babits on what religious groups work with her department:


That’s a high number, but it’s still smaller than incidents listed in the city’s official report released in March. In that document, the number of hate and bias crimes last year was 139.

David Natt is a lieutenant with the Eugene Police Department. He says the difference in numbers falls down to the number of protected classes - groups vulnerable to prejudice - that the city recognizes versus the state and federal governments.

Credit Katie Dunne
Oregon garage vandalized with swastika.

“The number of protected classes as covered by Oregon is greater than the federal, and then the City of Eugene is actually greater than the Oregon definition of protected classes,” explains Natt.  

“I think the City of Eugene has more than a dozen: sexual orientation, income, housing status, ethnicity, national origin, I mean…all the things that you can think of that’d potentially be a protected class.”

Natt says for hateful incidents that don’t rise to criminal levels, the City of Eugene’s Human Rights and Equity Commission can help victims find resources and support.   

Copyright 2018, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Related Content