Hate/bias crime against racial/ethnic minorities in the United States: A systematic review of empirical research and assessment of next steps

Abstract

Hate/bias crimes against race and national origins have been among the most critical and long-standing issues in America. However, hate/bias crimes against minorities, especially targeting Asians, have been insufficiently studied. Using a systematic review, we examine how hate crimes against racial/ethnic minorities have been studied. To be included in this review, studies needed to meet the following criteria: (1) exclusively use peer-reviewed empirical articles published in English, (2) be published between 2000 and 2022, (3) focus on original empirical research examining hate and bias crimes against racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, (4) measure hate or bias crimes (i.e., bias victimization) using official reports or self-reports, and (5) directly measure hate/bias crime as either exposure or an outcome. A total of 26 articles from Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Crossref that met the criteria were analyzed. This study finds that the number of articles on hate and bias crimes has significantly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, there was a notable lack of studies specifically measuring hate and bias crimes against Asians before 2022. Additionally, all the studies included in this review were quantitative and predominantly cross-sectional. Most of these studies focused on multiple racial groups, including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, often comparing their experiences with hate crimes by racial group. While many studies used secondary datasets such as UCR, NIBRS, and NCVS, only a few offered policy recommendations based on their findings. We recommend future research to address the gap in scholarly articles on hate and bias crimes against racial and ethnic minorities in the US.