Austin officials will revamp local response to hate crimes and the related resources available to residents following a yearslong rise in such incidents in the city.

The big picture

Nearly 300 hate crimes have been reported in Austin over less than a decade, with annual incidents jumping more than 250% from 2017 to 2024 when at least 60 took place. That trend is continuing this year with 36 hate crimes reported through July, according to the Austin Police Department.

Crimes have been targeted toward people of all backgrounds. Offenses like harassment, assault, thefts, terroristic threats and murder have taken place due to victims' race, religion, sexual orientation and other characteristics, APD data shows.

More than half of reported bias incidents since 2017 affected Black, gay or Jewish people. The city's most recent survey of more than 2,000 LGBTQ+ Austinites also found more than half knew someone who'd been threatened or attacked due to their orientation, and more than 1 in 4 experienced a physical threat or attack themselves within the previous five years.City officials and other community organizations have long been monitoring hate and bias incidents in town. Action at City Hall stretches back years, including City Council's support for a local task force on the issue and the creation of a new public information and resource campaign—We All Belong—in the 2020s.

But with incidents and related concerns in the community on the rise, city leaders voted this summer to pause We All Belong and recalibrate how bias incidents are addressed by the city and other area entities. A measure from council member Zo Qadri to revise the initiative and update Austin's approach to hate crimes was approved July 24.

“When someone in the community is targeted because of who they are and what they believe or who they love, we need to make sure that we can stand with survivors and build systems and prevent future harm," Qadri said in an interview.

The framework

While crediting community representatives and former city officials for their work on past anti-hate programs, Qadri said a renewed focus is now needed. For example, the city backed a local hate crimes task force more than a decade ago, but he noted its most recent public output was a 2012 report.

Over the past few years, support for We All Belong led to new public information on hate crime reporting, an accessible data dashboard, and various community events. Still, officials said there's room for improvement and that the burden for such work often falls to the city.

“I just want this to be a resource, but I also want this to be a safe haven, a safe place for folks to go. I just don't think that’s what it’s been," Qadri said. "I want something that is continuously operational and it’s something that people can rely on.”

Council members voted in July to temporarily pause We All Belong as it's transitioned away from its current format to a "data-driven programs and services model," as Qadri's resolution directs. The campaign will also be moved under a new, city-led task force on hate crimes.

Beyond that particular program, council also called to:

• Convene an intergovernmental hate crimes committee including Austin, local law enforcement agencies and school districts, the county and district attorneys' offices, and other partners
• Establish a new public-facing hate crimes web portal with information on crime reporting and resources for victims
• Launch a new hate crime notification system to update elected officials and local stakeholders when incidents take place
• Review APD training and policies on hate crimes
• Regularly update the city's hate crimes dashboard with new data on offenses, and publish annual reports with results

The city task force updates will be developed over the coming year. In the short term, city management will report on the other action items by late September. As that work continues, Qadri encouraged residents and advocacy groups to stay engaged and help shape the changes to come.

Keep in mind

City staff said the mounting number of hate crimes may partially be due to victims' increased willingness to report them, potentially thanks to We All Belong, following likely underreporting in past years. However, Qadri said he believes incidents are likely on the rise regardless of the campaign's results.

“I think both things can be true, right? People might be reporting more, and my hope is with this revamped hate crimes task force that people continue to report," he said. "But I would find it hard to believe in the current political climate where ... whatever group it might be that certain folks in our state and federal government villainize, I find it hard to believe there isn’t an uptick just because of the division and the vileness that often brews at the state capitol and in D.C.”

While Austin's had an apparent rise in hate crimes, the state as a whole has seen a recent decline, based on hate crime statistics shared by local law enforcement agencies with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

After Texas peaked at more than 500 incidents in the early 2020s, DPS reported 453 in 2024. Hate crimes in Travis County made up a large share of that total with just under 100 reported last year to county sheriffs as well as city, school district, and college or university police departments.