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By Edward Henderson
Black media in California

California Attorney General Rob Bonta released The California Hate Crimes Report 2023 on June 29 to provide data and resources to support ongoing efforts across the state to combat violence based on racial or other bias.

Overall, the number of reported hate crimes in California decreased by 7.1%, from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023.

Despite this overall downward trend, incidents targeting Black people remained the most common in the state. This disturbing statistic holds true year after year, despite a 20.6% decline from 652 in 2022 to 518 in 2023. The next highest number of incidents targeting Hispanics or Latinos involved 199 cases.

“The California Department of Justice has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hate and will continue to work with law enforcement, elected officials and community organizations across the state to protect our communities through education, prevention and enforcement,” Attorney General Robert Bonta said after the report was released.

“We will not let fanatics and bad actors win. We will not allow hate to prevail,” Bonta said.

The report also found that the number of prosecutions increased by 5% (about 32 percentage points).

According to the Attorney General’s report, the number of hate crimes referred for prosecution increased from 647 in 2022 to 679 in 2023 from 2022.

Of the 679 hate crimes referred for prosecution, 463 cases were filed for prosecution by district attorneys and elected city attorneys. Of the 463 cases filed for prosecution, 322 were filed as hate crimes and 141 were filed as non-bias-motivated crimes.

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Under California law, a hate crime is a crime committed in whole or in part because of the victim’s actual or perceived disability, gender, national origin, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person with one or more of these characteristics.

In addition to information on hate crimes against Black people, the 2023 California Hate Crimes Report also includes the following key findings:

• Hate crimes fell by 7.1% to 1,970 cases.
• The number of hate crimes fell by 8.9% to 2,359.
• The number of victims of hate crimes fell by 6.9% to 2,303.
• The number of hate crimes based on racial prejudice fell by 21.6 percent to 1,017.
• The number of hate crimes based on religious prejudice rose by 30% to 394.
• The number of anti-Islamic incidents rose from 25 to 40.
• The number of hate crimes due to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation increased by 4.1% to 405.
• The number of events on the topic of “prejudice against transgender people” increased by 10.2% to 65.
• The number of prejudiced anti-LGBTQ+ events increased by 86.4%.

The disproportionate number of hate incidents recorded in the Attorney General’s report is consistent with data published by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).

In response to a rise in hate crimes and hate incidents, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration launched “California Against Hate” Initiative that includes a hotline and an online reporting platform for victims.

“CA vs Hate is about recognizing and protecting the incredible diversity of our state and sending a clear message that hate will never be tolerated,” Newsom said.

If you or someone you know is the victim of a hate crime or hate incident, here’s how you can report it:

CA vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hotline and online portal for reporting hate crimes and incidents. Reports can be made anonymously by calling (833) 866-4283 or 833-8-NO-HATE Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT, or online anytime.

Hate crimes can be reported through the online portal in 15 different languages, and through the hotline in over 200 languages. People who want to report a hate crime to authorities immediately or who feel they are in immediate danger can call 911.

For more information about CA vs Hate, visit CAvsHate.org.