Legal Research

Hate Crimes Rise in Los Angeles, Driven By Black-Latino Conflicts

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, July 25, 2008.

"Hate crimes in Los Angeles County rose to their highest level in five years last year, led by attacks between Latinos and blacks, officials said Thursday. The annual report by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission showed hate crimes rose by 28%, to 763, with vandalism and assault leading the way, reports the Los Angeles Times. In what commission Executive Director Robin Toma called an alarming trend, hate crimes based on race, religion and sexual orientation all rose, increasing against nearly all groups- including blacks, gays, Jews, Mexicans, whites and Asians--even as crime in general declined."

"The largest number of racial hate crimes involved Latino suspects against black victims, followed by black suspects against Latino victims. Latinos also made up the largest number of suspects in hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Whites were the leading suspects in religion-based incidents. Overall, blacks made up nearly half the hate crime victims, totaling 310. 'What we're seeing is the democratization of hate crimes,' said Brian Levin, who directs the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino".

Los Angeles Times

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on July 25, 2008 (boomark / email).