Why Critics Say The NYPD's Tracking Of Hate Crimes Is Flawed

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a rise in anti-Asian bias incidents across the country and in New York City. But the NYPD hasn't been consistently designating those attacks as racially-motivated. 

Instead, the department has categorized some of those incidents as anti-disability attacks because the suspects, they say, assumed their Asian victims had COVID-19. Advocates say the failure to identify those incidents as anti-Asian attacks delayed the department's ability to deploy resources and effectively respond to the crisis. 

Max Jaeger, a Gothamist contributor, found there were 25 so-called "anti-COVID" attacks last year — but 24 of the victims were Asian. 

Click "Listen" in the player above to hear his conversation with WNYC's Michael Hill.