To the Editor:

Buried in the story about the funeral of murder victims Milton Lindgren and Eric Hendricks is an observation that Indianapolis, with a population in excess of 750,000, has recorded only one hate crime in 2008. Can it be that there are truly fewer hate crimes in Indianapolis than in other cities of comparable size? Or is there a failure in Indianapolis to acknowledge and report hate crimes?

We deeply respect the dedication of this city's law enforcement officials. But we must note that Indianapolis has a bad record in this area; in 2007, it was one of only four cities in the nation with a population in excess of 250,000 that did not report hate crimes data to the FBI. Adequate hate-crime reporting enables researchers, civic leaders and community relations professionals to discern hate-crime patterns and to improve responses to hate-motivated activity, which can tear communities apart.

Indiana needs a penalty-enhancement hate crimes law, and Indianapolis needs to do a better job of collecting data on such crimes. A good starting place might be improved training in hate crime investigation and reporting.