LOS ANGELES (AP) – Alleged hate crimes are expected to increase in California in 2022, including incidents of violence motivated by bias, according to state data released Tuesday.
Hate crimes involving racism against black people, as well as homophobia and anti-Semitism, increased last year compared to 2021 figures.
Overall hate crime incidents – which officials say are likely to be underreported – are set to rise 20.2% in 2022, from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120.
Following the nation’s racial census following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in 2020, crimes targeting black people in California are the most widespread and have risen 27.1% – from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022.
But incidents of anti-Asian prejudice are set to decrease by 43.3% in 2022, from 247 in 2021 to 140, after a large increase in previous years following the emergence of the coronavirus in China.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the figures during a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday. California’s Department of Justice has collected and reported statewide data on hate crimes since 1995.
“This report is a clear reminder that there is still much work to be done to combat hate in our state,” Bonta said in a news release. “An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us. The alarming increase in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row highlights the need for our communities to unite against hate.
A hate crime is motivated by the sex, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability of the victim. Hateful incidents like name calling are not necessarily criminal.
