This section of the Crime Statistics webpage contains summaries of our hate crimes. Page 118, of the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook, 2004 (published by the FBI) explains that "hate crimes are not separate, distinct crime, but are traditional offenses motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias. The object of the data collection is to indicate whether an offender was motivated, in while or in part, to commit an offense because of a bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin group."
The San Bernardino Police Department is required to make an important distinction when reporting a hate crime. "The mere fact that an offender is biased against a victim's race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin is not sufficient to deem the offense a hate crime. Rather, the [San Bernardino Police Department] must determine that the offender's criminal act was motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias."