Following a Los Angeles Police Department report that showed hate crimes have increased for the fourth year in a row, the Los Angeles City Council approved a Public Safety Committee report on Feb. 4 instructing the LAPD to develop proactive tools to protect vulnerable institutions and prevent violence motivated by hate.

The number of reported hate crimes rose by 10.3% in 2019, according to the LAPD report.

“Hate crimes continue to rise across our country, but today, Los Angeles is taking a stand,” said City Councilman David Ryu, 4th District. “We will not give in to fear or cynicism. We will not accept this as the new normal. We will stand together, across communities and across neighborhoods, as one of the most diverse cities on Earth and make Los Angeles a national leader in hate crime prevention. This legislation is the first step in ensuring that our city is prepared and our communities are protected.”

The legislation originated as a motion co-introduced in 2017 by Ryu and Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield, and former Councilman Mitch Englander. Among other things, that motion required LAPD to provide periodic reports to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on the number of hate crimes reported each year.

Hate crimes have continued to rise each year, increasing by 40.6% since 2016. Last year, the highest number of hate crimes were against Jewish residents, with 69 reported crimes, followed by African Americans with 68, and 53 against gay men. Hate crimes against trans individuals also increased by 23.5%, and the numbers more than doubled for Muslims.

“It is unfortunate, but no surprise that hate crimes are up in the region. My office has been tracking and working diligently on prevention and intervention measures to reduce hate crimes since the spike became apparent,” said Koretz, 5th District. “Our focus must be turned towards the future, which includes a multi-pronged approach. The first is shoring up physical infrastructure security at institutions. The second is closing the gap of communication with law enforcement and relevant agencies. The third is educating our community on a regular basis on how to report acts of hate and take action. We must combat hate wherever it rears its ugly head and fight for more funding for hate crime prevention.” 

The legislation approved on Feb. 4 seeks proactive measures to protect vulnerable institutions like synagogues, mosques and cultural centers, and increase prevention, outreach and information sharing. It instructs the LAPD to report back on establishing a citywide communications tool that would serve as a single point of contact for critical incident coordination, as well as a central hotline for proactive hate crime prevention.

The legislation also seeks to expand the victim’s assistance website with more languages, a broader array of resources for Los Angeles’ diverse communities and LAPD security assessments to vulnerable institutions.

“The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is greatly concerned about the sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks against the Jewish community in Los Angeles,” said Ivan Wolkind, chief operating and financial officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “Eight years ago, we created our Community Security Initiative to help protect our community members and institutions. We are incredibly grateful to Councilmember David Ryu for his partnership and leadership in combating this rising scourge of hate crimes against not only our Jewish community, but communities throughout the city who are dealing with these heinous acts.”

“Year after year, LGBT people continue to experience violent hate crimes at disproportionately high rates,” added Terra Russell-Slavin, director of policy and community building for the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “The targeting of LGBT people, and other marginalized communities, has steadily increased under the Trump administration and it should surprise no one that this ongoing contempt for vulnerable populations has violent consequences.”