It’s not just what you report on; it’s how you source the data.
A report from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024 found hate crimes increased 45% from the year before. It’s the highest level since the commission started keeping records in 1980.
The report noted 1,350 hate crimes reported in 2023. In the previous year, 930 were reported. This most recent tally tops even the 1,031 reported hate crimes in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
These shocking numbers seem to be a combination of an increase in hate, and an increase in reporting these incidents as crimes.
Both anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes increased, with the anti-Semitic hate almost double the previous measure. The report from the County states that 5% of these hate crimes included language that referenced events in the Middle East.
The report included information on 99 anti-transgender hate crimes, an increase of 125%; Almost all were violent attacks.
The most recent report from the state of California looking at crimes in L.A. County used incomplete data from the Los Angeles Police Department; the new county report includes nearly 700 more hate crimes than the Attorney General’s report took into account.
Los Angeles County also held a campaign to promote the reporting of hate crimes. Previously, incidents such as verbal attacks, slurs and graffiti were not reported on nearly as often. Culver City’s “United Against Hate” week in September was a part of that effort, to remind people to report and encourage them to seek help when such and incident occurred.
To report a hate crime in LA County, you can go to www.lavshate.org/ or call the CCPD at 310-837-1221.
Judith Martin-Straw
