Rafu Wire Service and Staff Reports
The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission released its 2022 Report on Hate Crime in Los Angeles County on Nov. 29 at the headquarters of the county Department of Mental Health.
Reported hate crimes in the county rose to their highest level in 21 years in 2022, jumping 18% from the previous year, according to the report, which found 929 reported hate crimes last year, up from 790 the prior year. The number is the highest since the 1,031 recorded in 2001.
Other findings include the largest number of anti-transgender crimes ever tallied, a record-breaking number of anti-immigrant slurs, and a growing rate of hate crime violence. For the past eight years, hate crimes have been trending upward with a 143% increase since 2013.
Speakers at the press conference included Supervisor Hilda Solis, District Attorney George Gascón, Sheriff Robert Luna, LAPD Assistant Chief Blake Chow, Human Relations Commission President Ilan Davidson, and Human Relations Commission Executive Director Robin Toma.
The release of the report “comes at a somber time — a time in which we are seeing what is happening afar having a direct local impact here in L.A. County,” Solis said. “It is also a reminder that we are not immune and hate and violence continue to impact the lives of Angelenos.”
Black residents again were targeted at a higher rate than other racial groups, representing an increase in hate crimes from 219 previously to 294 last year. It is the second-largest number of anti-Black crimes ever reported, the study found.
The number of hate crimes targeting Latino residents rose to 121, and those showed the highest rate of violence among all racial/ethnic groups.
There were 61 reported anti-Asian crimes last year, a 25% decline from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Crimes based on sexual orientation jumped by 20%, with 81% of those crimes targeting gay men. There were 44 anti-transgender crimes, with 91% classified as violent, a rate much higher than racial, sexual orientation and religious attacks.
Religion-based crimes jumped by 41%, with 83% of the offenses targeting Jews.
“2022 witnessed deepening divides across the U.S. along lines of political party, race, sexual orientation, religion, and gender identity,” Toma said. “Against this backdrop, hate crimes across the nation, including L.A. County, reached historic highs, which reflect more bias-motivated crime, but also better reporting.”
After reaching 48% the previous year, hate crimes in which anti-immigrant slurs were used continued to climb another 12% from 84 to 94, the largest number ever recorded. The report found that suspects used anti-immigrant language in 55% of anti-Latino crimes and in 25% of anti-Asian offenses.
The report noted that reported hate crimes have grown by 143% since falling to an all-time low in 2013.
County officials acknowledged that some of the increase could be attributed to more robust reporting of such crimes, aided by the LA vs Hate initiative. But they also noted that many hate crimes likely still go unreported.
“The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that nearly half of all violent hate crimes are not reported to law enforcement,” the report stated. ”It is reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the hate crimes documented in this report likely represent only a portion of hate crimes actually committed in 2022.”
Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Based on the collection and analysis of hate crimes reported by the Sheriff’s Department, more than 40 city police departments, dozens of police agencies at schools, colleges and universities, and trained community-based organizations, the commission found that reported anti-Asian hate crimes decreased. But despite the decline, the 61 anti-Asian crimes reported in 2022 remains the second-largest number ever reported.
Asian Americans constitute 15.6% of Los Angeles County residents and were targeted in 11% of racial hate crimes in 2022. However, the commission believes that under-reporting of hate crimes is a serious problem in the Asian community because of linguistic and cultural barriers, immigration status, unfamiliarity with the criminal justice system, and fear that reporting hate crimes could bring retaliation or unwanted publicity.
Last year saw other significant changes in anti-Asian crimes. The previous year, in 23% of these crimes (18) the suspects blamed the victims for COVID-19, but in 2022 this fell to one.
Anti-immigrant slurs were used in 25% of these cases, compared to 29% the previous year. Other suspects may have possessed anti-immigrant sentiments but made no explicit mention during the commission of the crime.
Anti-Chinese slurs were used in 26% of all anti-Asian crimes reported in 2022. They were followed by crimes targeting Filipinos, Japanese, and Koreans (5%), Asian Indians (3%), and a single crime targeting a Vietnamese victim. In the remainder, there were no slurs directed at specific ethnic groups.
Information about the actual ethnicities of the victims was available in 38 anti-Asian crimes. The largest group of victims were Chinese (34%), followed by Filipino (24%), Korean (21%), Vietnamese (11%), and Asian Indian and Japanese (5%).
54% of the victims were male and 46% were female. The previous year 48% of victims were female.
The ages of the victims were identified in all of the cases. 50% of the victims were 40 years or older (including seven who were more than 60 years old); 42% of victims were 26-40 and 5% were 18-25. Only 3% were juveniles.
The most frequent criminal offense was simple assault (51%), followed by intimidation (18%), vandalism (15%), and aggravated assault (10%). In addition, there were three cases of violation of a restraining order, and a single case of robbery.
The rate of violence was 80%, the same percentage as the previous year.
Similar to the previous year, anti-Asian crimes occurred most frequently in public places (38%), followed by businesses (33%), and residences (20%). Five crimes took place at schools, and a lone crime occurred at a government/public building.
The biggest change was that hate crimes at schools grew from 1% to 8%. It should be remembered that in 2021, schools were closed for part of the academic year, due to the pandemic.
There was also a shift in the race/ethnicity of suspects. In 2022, in cases in which suspects were identified, 37% were African American, followed by Latino/as and whites (31% each). The previous two years, during the height of the pandemic, Whites made up the largest group of suspects.
67% of the anti-Asian crimes took place in the City of Los Angeles. No other city or unincorporated area of the county had more than two crimes. This includes cities that have majority-Asian populations (such as Arcadia) and municipalities with very small Asian communities (like Manhattan Beach).
Details of Incidents
May 7, Malibu:A white male suspect and a Japanese male victim made eye contact, which enraged the suspect. The suspect called the victim “slant eyes” and “Jap,” and told him, “Go back to where you came from.” The suspect then threw a cup of coffee at the victim, which hit his head and the camera in his hand.
June 29, Koreatown: A Latino male ran into a Korean male’s car whose door was open. The suspect began yelling anti-Korean/immigrant statements, raised his skateboard above his head and shattered the victim’s windshield.
July 29, West Hollywood:At a day spa, the Asian female victim entered a private room to provide waxing services to the Black female suspect. The suspect called the victim a “Chinese bitch,” and punched the victim’s shoulder twice with a closed fist. The suspect then spat twice directly in the victim’s face. The victim had not spoken to the suspect, let alone done anything to provoke the attack. Employees escorted the suspect out of the location.
To see the full report, click here.