Public Safety
Hate crime numbers jump, most based on race, religion, sexual orientation
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By SILU GUO
Capital News Service
LANSING – Last November in Bay City, Delane Bell shouted “Osama bin Laden” and “jihad” at two men of Indian descent outside a bar, punched one of them and struck their car. Bell was convicted of ethnic intimidation. It was only one among a growing number of recent hate crime cases reported in the state. According to the State Police, 403 hate crimes incidents were reported last year, an 8 percent increase compared with 2010. Those incidents involved 487 victims. Most were assaults, intimidation, stalking and property damage.