Hate crimes in L.A. County ‘continue at record levels,’ new report finds

Hate crimes in Los Angeles County remained close to record-high ranges in 2024, regardless of slight decreases in a number of sorts of violent incidents, in response to a report launched Thursday.

The findings from the Los Angeles County Fee on Human Relations, introduced at a information convention in Koreatown, mentioned there have been 1,355 reported hate crimes victims within the county throughout 2024, a 1% lower from the prior 12 months.

“To get a way of the magnitude, that complete represents a median of almost 4 hate crimes in every day,” mentioned Robin Toma, the fee’s govt director.

Toma mentioned hate crimes persevering with domestically at historic charges may be partially attributed to improved reporting, together with partnerships between regulation enforcement businesses, and neighborhood organizations reminiscent of LA vs. Hate and 211LA.

Anti-Black hate crimes accounted for a majority of the reported incidents at 51%, with the overall variety of victims rising from 325 in 2023 to 345 final 12 months. The information keep a years-long sample of overrepresentation of Black people as victims in racially pushed incidents. The report cited one incident in December final 12 months, when a Black girl driving her automotive in Lengthy Seashore mentioned a white perpetrator started to yell slurs at her and brandish a weapon “about 8 instances.”

Professor emeritus Brian Levin, founding director on the Heart for the Examine of Hate and Extremism, mentioned “socially scapegoated teams” bear the brunt of violent hate crimes. Easy assaults, aggravated assaults and robberies all rose to various levels, which — together with vandalism — accounted for 88% of all reported hate crimes, in response to the fee’s report.

Hate crimes towards the Center Japanese neighborhood elevated sevenfold, the report discovered, the biggest rise of any racial class. Crimes that concerned language relating to the battle within the Center East accounted for six% of all complete incidents. Almost half of those occurred at school settings, the report added.

The variety of hate crimes wherein victims have been recognized as Latino additionally elevated from 2023 to 2024, with 25 extra incidents reported, for a complete of 71.

Levin mentioned the pattern may probably be attributed to infected rhetoric regarding immigrant communities coming from elected officers in Washington.

The scapegoating of immigrants and transgender folks enabled destructive stereotypes to flourish, which in flip influenced sufferer focusing on,” he mentioned.

In October of final 12 months, in response to one other incident highlighted within the fee’s report, a Latina Licensed Nurse Assistant was repeatedly punched and visibly injured by a Black affected person after he advised her, “I hate Central America. Return to your nation.”

Toma mentioned that knowledge on immigrant or Latino communities could also be skewed as a result of some are afraid to report incidents for worry of immigration enforcement penalties.

Sheriff Robert Luna, who additionally spoke on the information convention Thursday, mentioned any reporting occasion wouldn’t be scrutinized by his company for his or her immigration standing.

“I’m sporting this uniform, and everybody seems to be at me in a different way as a result of I put on this uniform,” Luna mentioned. “However on a weekend, if I am going to a House Depot, not in uniform, I’m wanting over my again to my actuality, and so I’ve that sensitivity that we’re in some difficult instances.”

Almost all crimes towards transgender people resulted in violence, with a 3% improve in complete reported incidents, the fee’s report mentioned. Crimes towards nonbinary people additionally rose, in response to the report, however there was a slight lower in incidents towards the LGBTQ+ neighborhood total.

Bambi Salcedo, president of the Trans Latin@ Coalition, mentioned the report displays the “realities” of transgender people each in L.A. County and nationally.

“This 12 months alone, at the least 52 trans folks [nationally] have been murdered,” Salcedo mentioned. “What which means is that, for each week of the 12 months, at the least one in every of us has been murdered.”

Incidents involving Asian victims decreased from 70 in 2023 to 52 in 2024, the report mentioned. Gang-related crimes additionally decreased after historic highs in 2023.

Non secular-based hate crimes primarily focused Jewish victims, which accounted for 80% of the overall, however decreased from 244 to 202 reported incidents, in response to county knowledge. Anti-Muslim crimes — which made up the second-largest majority of incidents — elevated from 19 to 21 crimes. Scientologists have been recognized as victims in 16 incidents final 12 months, in comparison with 10 in 2023.

“These findings ought to be alarming, reflecting the persistence of excessive ranges of hate with our concern that it’ll proceed to develop given the political local weather,” Toma mentioned.