Reports of bias crimes in Oregon declined in 2024 for the first time in several years, revealing “complex and concerning” developments in bias crime and incident reporting across the state, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission’s sixth annual Hate and Bias Crime report.
In January 2020, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the Bias Response Hotline to collect data on both criminal bias and non-criminal bias across the state. The latest report, required under 2019’s Senate Bill 577, draws data from the hotline, the National Incident-Based Reporting System and state and local criminal justice data.
In 2024, the hotline received 2,726 bias-motivated reports, marking a 7% decrease from 2,932 in 2023. The decline in reporting was especially prevalent among Black, Latino, Native American and gender non-conforming communities.
“This report is both a sobering gut check and a call to action,” Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a news release. “We’re seeing Oregonians retreat in silence, while others are just starting to feel safe enough to speak up.”
Rayfield said the decline could be a result of rapid changes in federal law, fears around privacy, confusion between state and federal oversight, and a growing sense that everyday bias is all too common and not worth reporting.
Lane County sees decrease in bias crime reporting
The lengthy report outlines what kind of incidents are reported to the hotline. The CJC reported that since its launch, the hotline has collected 13,000 reports including:
People experiencing or witnessing hateful slurs.
Violent threats online and in person, including threats to rape or kill young children.
Hate-raiding on online gaming and social media platforms, driving people away from remote connections.
Assaults, stalking, doxing, swatting and spitting on people.
Grocery stores and restaurants refusing to serve people and intentionally poisoning their food.
Runners and dog walkers chased and shoved to the ground in parks; campers driven out of campsites.
People’s cars and property painted with swastikas and other universal symbols of hate; weapons such as pipes and knives wielded to scare and utilized to crush skulls and bones and strike flesh.
Nooses left on doorsteps and in school yards.
School boards banning Pride flags in schools as “political” indoctrination; radicalized county boards and city councils spewing anti-Jewish tropes in local newspapers and during public meetings.
Books by Black, brown, and queer authors being banned and defaced; coordinated campaigns to remove affirming books and literature from public schools and libraries.
Neo-Nazi sieg heil salutes in public places, captured on video, and shared proudly on social media channels.
Families forced to flee their homes, towns, and Oregon as race-based refugees in present-day America.
The report says new forms of bias targeting include flyering campaigns and online hate and harassment. The hotline has also received an increase of reports regarding Zoom raiding, also known as the unwanted or disruptive intrusion by internet trolls on video conference calls, doxing, social media campaigning, and alternative-media triggered organizing.
In 2024, the hotline received 958 reports from Multnomah County, the highest reported in the state. Benton and Columbia counties had the most noticeable increase in cases between 2023 and 2024, while Lane, Clackamas, Washington and Linn counties had the most noticeable decrease in reporting.
Reports to the hotline in Lane County dropped from 674 in 2023 to 397 in 2024.
“It is difficult to ascertain if the decreased reporting in Linn, Lane, Clackamas, and Washington counties represent a true decline or a decision to report elsewhere,” the report said.
Oregon sees an overall decrease in bias crime reporting
Bias-motivated reports dropped by 34% for all demographic groups in Oregon, including Black, Indigenous and other people of color. In contrast, bias crime reporting involving white victims more than doubled, increasing by 105% from 115 reports in 2023 to 236 reports in 2024. Reports involving Asian and female victims rose by 46% and 18% respectively.
The report found white people who were the primary victims of bias-motivated crimes were targeted because of sexual orientation and gender identity. Black, Indigenous and people of color were targeted primarily based on race.
According to the report, race-based targeting led all hotline reporting in 2024 with 1,216 reports, followed by anti-sexual orientation targeting with 771 reports, and anti-national origin targeting with 651 reports.
What prevents victims from reporting bias crimes and incidents?
The report said it is apparent that underreporting is extensive in Oregon. Some bias crime victims may not define their experience as a crime or may deem their experience as too minor to report, given their previous life experiences. Individuals who recognize their experiences as bias-related and/or criminal may be deterred from reporting due to fear of reprisal by law enforcement, the defendant, the wider community or their loved ones.
Hotline staff harassed, targeted in bias incidents
Between 2020 and 2024, hotline advocates were targeted in 390 bias incidents. Of those incidents, 244 occurred in 2024, marking a 165% increase from 2023. In addition, they were the target of 2,231 harassment calls and spam incidents.
The report said the increase in both spam reports and bias incidents targeting staff requires further investigation into the source and whether crime victim support case workers and advocates at other agencies are also experiencing the same issue.
Rayfield said every Oregonian deserves to be heard and supported.
“We’re also seeing harassment aimed directly at the people helping victims,” Rayfield said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure every Oregonian — regardless of background or identity — can be heard, supported, and connected to the help they need. The Hotline exists for them, and we have to keep building trust in that promise.”
Recommendations for response and accessibility
The report offers the following recommendations for state leaders:
Expand hotline staffing and tech capacity to manage administrative and harassment-related burdens.
Increase privacy protections for bias victims on the hotline, aligning with existing statutory protections for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Conduct additional research to better understand declining reports and law enforcement engagement.
Continue to expand peer-led law enforcement and district attorney training.
Ensure the hotline remains accessible and trauma-informed across communities by ensuring advocates themselves are supported in the aftermath of hate and bias.
How to report an incident
To contact the hotline, call 1-844-924-2427. A web report in nine languages is also available online at StandAgainstHate.oregon.gov.
Victims can also visit the Community Bias Response Toolkit to learn more about the reporting process.
Counseling benefits for victims of a bias crime or incident are also available with application to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Program.
2024 Hate and Bias Crime Report by haleighkochanski on Scribd
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon sees ‘complex and concerning’ decline in bias crime reporting