Reported hate crimes increased in California in 2022, including instances 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, all rose last year, compared with 2021 data.
Overall hate crime events — which officials say are likely underreported — increased 20.2% in 2022, from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120.
Crimes targeting Black people in California remain the most widespread and rose 27.1% — from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022 — in the aftermath of the country’s racial reckoning following George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers in 2020.
But anti-Asian bias events decreased by 43.3% in 2022, from 247 in 2021 to 140, after major increases in past years following the emergence of the coronavirus in China.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the figures Tuesday during a news conference in Los Angeles. The California Department of Justice has collected and reported statewide data on hate crimes since 1995.
"This report is a stark 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 increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate."
A hate crime is motivated by the victim’s gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Hate incidents such as name calling are not necessarily criminal.
Some of the key findings from the 2022 Hate Crime in California Report include:
- Overall, reported hate crime events increased 20.2% from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120 in 2022. A hate crime event is a single occurrence but may involve more than one hate crime offense. For example, a person may be threatened and assaulted at the same time; this would involve multiple hate crime offenses within the same hate crime event.
- 2,589 hate crime offenses were reported in California, increasing by 16.6% from 2021.
- Hate crime events motivated by a sexual orientation bias increased 29% from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022.
- Anti-Black or African American bias events increased 27.1% from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022.
- Anti-Hispanic bias crimes rose from 197 in 2021 to 210 in 2022.
- Anti-Asian bias events fell from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022, a decrease of 43.3%.
- Anti-Jewish bias events increased 24.3% from 152 in 2021 to 189 in 2022.
- Anti-Protestant bias events rose from 2 in 2021 to 12 in 2022.
- Anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias crimes rose from 18 in 2021 to 25 in 2022.
- Anti-transgender bias events increased from 38 in 2021 to 59 in 2022.
- Anti-gay (male) bias events increased 28.4% from 211 in 2021 to 271 in 2022
- Anti-lesbian bias crimes rose from 27 in 2021 to 33 in 2022.
From 2021 to 2022, the number of hate crimes referred for prosecution increased 5.9% from 610 in 2021 to 647 in 2022. Of the 647 hate crimes that were referred for prosecution, 456 cases were filed by district attorneys and elected city attorneys. Of the 122 cases with a disposition available for this report, 43.4% were hate crime convictions and 45.9% were other convictions.
STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press
