People of faith are the No. 1 victims of hate crimes in New York state, with just over 50% of all bias-related incidents between 2019 and 2023 targeting people for their religious beliefs, a report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller said Wednesday.

Over the past five years, reported hate crimes have jumped by 69%, reaching a record high of 1,089 incidents in 2023. Incidents in New York State increased by 12.7% in 2023 alone, the report said.

Religious bias motivates about half of all hate crimes in the state, with anti-Jewish incidents accounting for 88% of religiously motivated crimes and 44% of the total. Race, ethnicity, and national origin-based crimes make up about one-third of incidents.

Catholics and other Christian denominations were not specifically mentioned in the report. However, anecdotally, incidents of anti-Catholic vandalism rose in 2023, such as the defacement of statues outside the Church of the Sacred Heart in Staten Island, along with other events in parishes north of New York City and the Diocese of Brooklyn.

While New York City accounts for the majority of incidents, the rest of the state has seen a more rapid increase since 2019. The New York Police Department reported 669 hate crimes in the city in 2023, up 12.6% from the previous year. The rest of the state saw 420 incidents, a 12.9% increase.

The nature of these crimes is evolving. Since 2018, crimes against persons have outpaced property crimes, with assaults now making up nearly half of all reported hate crimes. In New York City, 58% of hate crimes in 2023 were against individuals, with a third classified as felonies.

The most common offense in New York City was aggravated harassment in the first degree, a felony involving acts such as painting swastikas or damaging religious premises. Of the 145 incidents, 131 were anti-Jewish in nature.

“Fighting hatred and bigotry demands that we communicate with, respect, and accept our neighbors. It requires our spiritual, political, community, and business leaders to take active roles in denouncing hate, investing in prevention and protection efforts, and increasing education that celebrates the value of New York’s diversity,” Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in a statement. The comptroller is the state’s top fiscal officer.

In April, two bills proposed in the New York State Senate and Assembly, Senate Bill S7040 and Assembly Bill 6929, respectively, would “add trespassing on a house of worship to the state’s parameters of a hate crime,” OSV News reported. The two bills remain in committee in the New York legislature. 

The New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC), which represents the state’s bishops in legislative matters, issued a memorandum of support for the two bills. “Religious bigotry and hate cannot go unchecked. During these frightening times, we must come together and stand strong against violence and intolerance. We urge you to enact this critical piece of legislation,” NYSCC said in the memo to New York legislators.