- Four states track anti-police crimes as hate crimes because of legislative action. Michigan is the only doing so without.
- State Police recorded 148 incidents in 2021, ranging from embezzlement to non-aggravated assault, to violation of controlled substance.
- People criticized the move, saying it diminishes what a hate crime is and the severity of it.
LANSING — In late 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was raging in Michigan, the state’s top law enforcement agency quietly began tracking what it deems hate or bias incidents against police.
The agency counted 10 incidents of what it describes as anti-police bias and recorded them under its hate/bias category in the four months between September and December of that year, Public Affairs Representative Lori Dougovito said in an email. The incidents, like hate crimes, are reported by Michigan police agencies to state police for inclusion in its Michigan Incident Crime Reporting reports. Those reports are