FBI report: Hate crimes down for 2nd straight year in Wisconsin

MADISON — Hate crimes in Wisconsin appeared to decrease for the second straight year in 2016.

The FBI released its 2016 hate crime statistics report Monday.

Wisconsin reported 34 hate crimes last year. That's down from 43 in 2015 and 51 in 2014.

The bulk of the crimes in 2016 were motivated by the victim's race or ethnicity.

The yearly report is the most comprehensive accounting of hate crimes in the U.S. But authorities warn it's incomplete, partly because it's based on voluntary reporting by police agencies. The number of participating agencies also varies from year to year, so simple year-by-year comparisons are cautioned against.

Wisconsin's 2016 figures were reported by 18 — or roughly 4 percent — of a total of 414 agencies participating in the program statewide.