Hate crimes are at a 21-year-high in L.A. County as political divides widen, report says

Hate crimes are at a 21-year high in Los Angeles County, a reflection of deepening political divides in America, the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations reported Wednesday in its annual report.

The commission found that reported hate crimes in L.A. County increased by 18% in 2022, rising from 790 to 929 — the highest since the 1,031 recorded in 2001.

“We are troubled by the extremely high number of hate crimes in 2022,” stated Commission President Ilan Davidson. “But we are especially concerned about the huge increases in hate crimes targeting the African American and Jewish communities.”

“2022 witnessed deepening divides across the U.S. along lines of political party, race, sexual orientation, religion and gender identity,” said Robin Toma, the Commission’s executive director. “Against this backdrop, hate crimes across the nation, including L.A. County, reached historic highs, which reflect more bias-motivated crime.”

Toma also credited better reporting from the anti-hate program LA vs Hate.

“It’s helped over 2,700 victims of hate-motivated bullying, verbal harassment, threats, and hate crimes in our county since it began, provided us a more complete map of hate crime for our county, and enabled us to carry out more effective hate prevention strategies,” Toma said.

MORE INFORMATION: LA City Council passes motion to make it easier to report hate crimes

Hate crime numbers have steadily increased for the past three years. And since 2013, the commission has seen a 143% increase in hate crimes.

Here are some of the standout stats from the report:

• 72% of the hate crimes reported were “of a violent nature,” which Marshall Wong, coordinator of Anti-Hate Crime Programs, said is defined by crimes that involve assault or intimidation.
• Racism was the most common kind of hate crime reported, making up for nearly 60% of all hate crimes reported in the county.
• Anti-Asian hate crimes — which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic — declined by 25%. However, at 61 reported, this was the second-highest number of Anti-Asian hate crimes in the report’s history. Asian-Americans make up 15.6% of L.A. County residents.
• Anti-Chinese slurs were used in 22% of all Anti-Asian crimes reported.
• Religious crimes rose by 41%. Of those, 81% were anti-Jewish.
• 294 Anti-Black crimes were reported, the second highest in the report’s history. The majority of these crimes were assault or vandalism, usually in public places.

MORE INFORMATION: LAPD reports 15% increase in hate crimes in 2022

Wednesday’s report included some descriptions of hate crimes reported, including a young Black boy who received calls from someone who threatened to kill him because of his race.

“The suspect then called him on FaceTime and showed him several firearms and said he was associated with the KKK,” the report reads. “He said he had been inspired by the recent Buffalo, New York mass-shooting in which 10 African Americans were murdered. ”

In response to the higher numbers, the commission said that it was directed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to build a campaign to reduce hate crimes and figure out solutions to prevent them. The product of this was the LA vs Hate initiative, which the commission says has three components:

• A “see something, say something” type of campaign encouraging residents to report incidents of hate crimes against themselves or others in their community.
• The implementation of a government hotline specifically meant for reporting hate crimes (accessed by calling 2-1-1).
• A network of rapid-response community organizations.

The 10-member commission’s annual report is compiled using data from over 100 law enforcement agencies and community organizations.

According to Wong, the majority of the stats come from the LAPD and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. This year, some additional cases were reported to 2-1-1.

Wong confirmed that although there are striking new numbers in the report, the way it has been conducted has been virtually the same for several years.

“California has always had one of the most comprehensive hate crime statutes, and in my 24-plus years working at the commission, it has not changed,” Wong said. “The one new source is the 2-1-1 line.”