Hate crimes nearly doubled in Colorado Springs over the past year

Hate crimes have nearly doubled in Colorado Springs from 2017 to 2018, according to data from the Colorado Springs Police Department.

The data shows in 2017 there were 11 hate crimes reported, but that number spiked to 19 so far this year.

It’s a similar story nationally.

According to the most recent data available from 2016, the FBI reports there’s been a steady increase in hate crimes. Of the thousands of hate crimes committed, more than 50 percent targeted the Jewish community.

“People say they never thought it could happen here, I don’t know how anybody says that anymore,” said Rabbi Jay Sherwood, of Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs.

Rabbi Sherwood spoke exclusively with KRDO about the mass shooting that unfolded at a Pittsburgh, PA synagogue claiming 11 lives.

“We had roses left on the doorstep of Temple Shalom… in memory of each person who was killed,” said Sherwood.

The tragedy in Pittsburgh brought back memories to Sherwood about these acts of hate we see nationwide and locally in Southern Colorado.

“Colorado Springs is no different than the rest of the country,” Sherwood said.

He’s right. Colorado Springs has seen quite a bit of hate over the years.

In 2012, vandals defaced a Jewish menorah with a swastika on someone’s property. In 2015, there was the Planned Parenthood shooting that claimed three lives and injured nine others. In 2017, a racial slur was posted on the dorm doors of five black Air Force Academy cadets. A month later in 2017, a student at Cheyenne Mountain High School sent a threatening Snapchat message, stating “Around Blacks Never Relax.”

For an in-depth look at the most recent national FBI statistics, read here.