Hate Crime Cases at Highest Rate Since 2001

Thirty-one hate crime cases were filed in 2009, making this year's tally the highest since 2001, the New York Times reports. Federal authorities said the number reflects a renewed effort to prosecute hate crimes.

This month, the Government Accountability Office report said that there had been a drop in enforcement of several major antidiscrimination and voting rights laws from 2001-2007. Thomas Perez, the new head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights division, said he was "shocked" to see the downtick in hate crimes prosecutions during the Bush administration, and that under Obama the division would be "open for business."