Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2025
The Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act of 2025 would add a new framework to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 that ties federal grant allocations to how credibly local jurisdictions report hate crime data to the FBI. Starting within three years of enactment, the Attorney General would establish a method (using data from the Hate Crimes Statistics Act) to evaluate whether each “covered jurisdiction” (a local government unit that has requested a grant under the subpart and has more than 100,000 residents) credibly reports hate crimes. If a jurisdiction is found not to credibly report—i.e., it did not report hate crime data to the FBI or reported zero hate crime incidents—it would lose eligibility for grant allocations under this section. There is an exception: if the Attorney General certifies that the jurisdiction has carried out significant community education and awareness initiatives on hate crimes, it would not face the penalty. The Act also requires an annual DOJ report listing jurisdictions certified under the exception and defines key terms including what counts as a hate crime and what constitutes “significant community public education and awareness initiatives.”
Key Points
- 1New evaluation requirement: The Attorney General must establish a method to determine whether covered jurisdictions credibly report hate crime data to the FBI, using Hate Crimes Statistics Act data, beginning within three years after enactment.
- 2Penalty for non-credible reporting: A covered jurisdiction found not to credibly report would be ineligible for grant allocations under this subpart.
- 3Exception and transparency: Jurisdictions that demonstrate significant community education and awareness initiatives on hate crimes are not subject to the penalty, and the Attorney General must publish annually on DOJ’s website a list of jurisdictions certified under this exception.
- 4Definitions and scope:
- 5- Covered jurisdiction = a local government unit requesting a grant under this subpart with population over 100,000.
- 6- Hate crime = acts described in the Hate Crime Statistics Act and certain offenses under 18 U.S.C. sections 241, 245, 247, or 249.
- 7- Significant community education/awareness initiatives = either meeting criteria for improved reporting and standardized data to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) or establishing units/liaisons and/or holding ongoing public meetings and education on hate crimes and related laws.
- 8Data and reporting goal: The measure emphasizes standardized, credible reporting to the FBI’s hate crime data system (NIBRS) as part of determining eligibility for federal allocations.