Austin officials will revamp local response to hate crimes and the related resources available to residents following a yearslong rise in such incidents in the city.

The big picture

Nearly 300 hate crimes have been reported in Austin over less than a decade, with annual incidents jumping more than 250% from 2017 to 2024 when at least 60 took place. That trend is continuing this year with 36 hate crimes reported through July, according to the Austin Police Department .

Crimes have been targeted toward people of all backgrounds. Offenses like harassment, assault, thefts, terroristic threats and murder have taken place due to victims' race, religion, sexual orientation and other characteristics, APD data shows.

More than half of reported bias incidents since 2017 affected Black, gay or

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