Black, White and Grey, Crime Statistics in America

The topic of crime statistics whether they be Black on White crime statistics, White on Black Crime Statistics or any stat on crime in America has been a hot topic lately. We are aiming to state the facts and more importantly help you think about why crime happens and what positive things we can do to help prevent crime.

This post is part of our efforts to Fill the Internet with Love and combat hate on search engines.

PSA: I try and keep things simple and refer to “African Americans” as black people. Simply because a lot of black people who live in America are not from Africa. They are from the Caribbean and other places. Yes yes I know we are technically all from Africa but then that would confuse things even further. So I’m just going to keep things Black and White but explain the importance of Grey.

To kick this post off I’ll begin with some actual Crime Statistics  from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This data is from 2015 and one piece from 2013. I’ll update once full 2016 data is made available.

General 2015 Crime Stats from the FBI:

2015 FBI Stats: Crime By bias motivation (Based on Table 1.)

An analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:

• 59.2 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offenders’ bias against race/ethnicity/ancestry.

• 19.7 percent were victimized because of bias against religion.

• 17.7 percent were targeted because of bias against sexual orientation.

• 1.7 percent were victims of gender-identity bias.

• 1.2 percent were targeted because of bias against disability.

• 0.4 percent (30 individuals) were victims of gender bias.

2015 FBI Stats: Racial/Ethnicity/Ancestry bias (Based on Table 1.)

Among single-bias hate crime incidents in 2015, there were 4,216 victims of race/ethnicity/ancestry motivated hate crime.

• 52.2 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Black or African American bias.

• 18.7 percent were victims of anti-White bias.

• 9.3 percent were victims of anti-Hispanic or Latino bias.

• 3.8 percent were victims of bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group).

• 3.3 percent were victims of anti-American Indian or Alaska Native bias.

• 3.2 percent were victims of anti-Asian bias.

• 1.1 percent were victims of anti-Arab bias.

• 0.1 percent (6 individuals) were victims of anti-Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander bias.

• 8.1 percent were victims of anti-Other Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry bias.

2013 FBI Crime Statistics By Race

I’m not going to interpret these charts for you. All I want to do is give you the data from the FBI so you can make up your own mind. The point is that blacks and whites both commit crimes like murder more than any other race. It seems like they kill each other more than they kill others (black on black and white on white). This shows me that we need to work on building community and the art of being Grey as mentioned below.

 

Why this is Important
Understanding the real facts from things that are made up is very important because these results effect people in powerful ways.

False Black on White Crime Statistics Have Led to Murder

A Google search on Black on White crime or any crime statistics brings up a slew of false information that has actual led to the deaths of innocent people.

For example on June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof walked into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot 9 innocent black people. He was pushed over the edge by what he found after he searched on Google. He saw the fake crime statistics on Black on White crime that were created by hate groups and said, “He had to do something about it.”

This took Dylan from having very racist views ( which is fine because everyone has a right to their opinion ) to actually murdering innocent black people in a Church which is obviously terrible.

Here are some answers to popular questions and myths around this Crime Stats in America:

Are Certain Races More Prone to Crime than others?

No one race is more likely to do crime more than another. Even though the data shows that more white people commit murder it doesn’t mean that white people are born more likely to kill than black people.

Myth 1: Black and Hispanics a More Likely to Commit  Crimes.
There are many stereotypes but the ones around crime usually screw to the tune that Black an Hispanic people are more prone to criminal activities and to violence. This is not true at all.

The majority of crimes are committed because of socioeconomic issues like poverty. For example if you can’t afford food you are more likely to steal food before starving to death. This would be the case whether you are white or black. It also comes down to the individual human being. Not everyone who can’t afford food would resort to stealing or committing a crime to obtain it.

Why then are there a lot of black people in Jail?

The increase of black people being incarcerated can be directly attributed to the  the exploitation of the 13th amendment.

The Loop Hole in the 13th Amendment
When slavery was abolished in America most people rejoiced but others set out to figure out a way to invent another type of slavery and they achieved this by using the prison system. Combine this with Crack epidemic that decimated black neighborhoods racially biased policing in some areas.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment says

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. ”

This means that if you are a prisoner you are basically stripped of your rights and could be forced to work like the slaves were.

Once this loop hole was created people began to immediately exploit it. There was an effort to target newly freed slaves and  arrest them on things that other people would not have been arrested for.

This began filling the jails with black people and has lead to a cycle of jail and poverty for generations of American black people.

Watch this clip from a documentary called The 13th which is currently on Netflix. It explains this issue in great detail.

How to Prevent Crime: The Zen of Being Grey

In a world where people are constantly expecting you or choosing to be Black or White we need to embrace the mindset of being Grey. We are not machines where things are binary and where 1 or 0 dictate your programing. We are humans and can chose to be Grey. We can choose to embrace each others differences and escape the labels that others try and force upon us. Being Grey allows you to have amazing experiences so you can have a richer more fulfilled life. One of the best ways to prevent crime is through building a strong community with everyone in your neighborhood. The more you include people and make them feel welcomed and valued as a member of your community the more everyone would work together. The more you practice being Grey the more your world will change for the better. The more we come together the less you leave crime as an option in the community. This of course takes time and is way easiest said than done but effort is everything. Empathy goes a long way and the more we listen to each other and work together the less crime there will be.

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