Anti-Asian hate crimes dropped in California in 2022, report shows
By Carl Samson
Hate crimes committed against Asian Americans in California have fallen by 43.3% in the past year, a new government report shows.
Findings: Breaking a trend sparked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes in the state dropped from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022, according to the report released on Tuesday.
However, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the numbers are still “very high” and that “there’s more work to do.” As a point of comparison, there were 19 anti-Asian hate crimes in 2014 and 2015, and 35 or less in all but one year between 2013 and 2018, as per the Los Angeles Times. No hate crimes had been reported against Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders in 2022.
The bigger picture: Despite the sharp drop in attacks against Asian Americans, overall hate crimes in California rose last year. A total of 2,120 incidents were reported, marking a 20.2% jump from 2021.
With 652 incidents, the most targeted group were African Americans, making up 30.8% of the total. The second-most targeted group were gay males (12.8%), followed by Hispanic/Latino Americans (9.9%) and Jewish Americans (8.9%).
How you can help: Bonta believes hate crimes in the state remain underreported. On Monday, a bulletin that summarizes laws against hate crimes was issued to all district attorneys and state law enforcement agencies. Bonta is encouraging victims or potential victims to come forward and report their experiences to authorities. He told reporters (via ABC 30):
Reach out to community organizations in your area that deal with hate crimes, they can provide support and guidance and direction as well. What we don’t know about, we can’t respond to.
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