L.A. County Hate Crimes Increased by 20% In 2020

The number of hate crimes reported last year in Los Angeles County was the highest in 12 years, led by a spike in racial crimes, the county Commission on Human Relations said Wednesday in an annual report.

The total of 635 hate crimes reported in 2020 was a 20% increase over the previous year, and 61% were racist crimes, the report said.

African Americans, who are just 9% of the county population, accounted for 42% of racial crime victims, according to the report. A total of 169 anti-Black crimes were reported, an increase of 35%.

Anti-Latino crimes were up 58% to 106 and anti-white crimes jumped to 50, a 127% increase. The report’s statistics also reflected the trend of hate crimes targeting Asians, which increased 76%, from 25 to 44.

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The Los Angeles County findings are similar to a June report by the state attorney general that found hate crime in California surged 31% in 2020, fueled mainly by a big jump in crimes targeting Black people.

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