In what isn't exactly unsurprising news the Justice Department has prosecuted more hate crimes since January when it came under new management than it has in any year since 2001.

According to the Associated Press:

The total is at 25 so far in the Obama administration's first year.

In 2001, there were 31 such cases filed. The number fell to a low of 12 in 2006, before starting to rise again, reaching 23 in 2008.

The head of the department's civil rights divisions says he was "shocked" by that drop-off during the Bush administration. Tom Perez notes that the number of hate crimes did not fall.

During the Bush administration, an internal investigation found improper politically motivated hiring and personnel practices in the civil rights division.

 

The politicization of the civil rights division during the Bush years upset many of the career professionals in the division, resulting in many departures.

Still, the difference between 25 this year and 23 in 2008 isn't that large. But the data suggests something clearly seems to have happened in 2006 and 2007.

According to a chart from the civil-rights division, for the years 2001 through 2008, the division's year-by-year hate-crimes filings were 31, 21, 22, 23, 19, 12, 14 and 23.

Those numbers were significantly lower than those posted during the Clinton Administration. From 1993 through 2000, the year-by-year numbers were 29, 39, 44, 49, 41, 34, 41 and 39.