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Hate Crimes Rose 15 Percent In County, The Valley Appears Particularly Hateful
Photo by Mark Luethi via the LAist Featured Photos pool
The good news: reported hate crimes in Los Angeles County are at the second lowest that they've been in 22 years. The bad news: they're still a problem and reported hate crimes ticked up 15 percent since last year.
The county Commission on Human Relations released its annual report detailing hate crimes in the county, which relies on crime reports from law enforcement agencies, school districts and community groups, according to City News Service.
Some highlightslowlights from the 2011 report: The San Fernando Valley had the highest rate of hate crimes of any place in the county. The Antelope Valley and Southeastern part of the county, on the other hand, had the lowest rates.
About half of crimes are race-based, and 60 percent of those race-based hate crimes targeted blacks (there was a similar pattern in OC). Of those, 65 percent were committed by Latinos. It went the other way, too: 41 percent of crimes targeting Latinos were committed by blacks.
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Religious crimes, which consisted mostly of anti-semitic crimes (like this), rose 24 percent.
Crimes based on sexual orientation didn't change much from last year, but they were more likely to be violent that race- or religious-based hate crimes.
Altogether there were 489 reported hate crimes in the county last year—62 more than last year.
"There are real victims -- these are our friends, family and neighbors," commission Executive Director Robin Toma told CNS.
Related:
Hate Crimes in OC Jumped 14 Percent
Jon Lovitz Defeats 'Jew Haters' Who Bullied Teen Girl With Maple Syrup Swastikas & Feces
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