L.A. County saw less hate crime in 2006
L.A. County saw less hate crime in 2006
Incidents were down 6% from the previous year, but there were two killings, including that of 14-year-old Cheryl Green in December.
By Susannah Rosenblatt
Times Staff Writer
June 8, 2007
The mother of an African American girl slain in a racially motivated attack last year made an emotional plea for peace Thursday during a presentation about Los Angeles County hate crime, which has dropped slightly since 2005.
“To have your child, your baby of 14, taken away from you due to the color of her skin, there’s no understanding to it, you can’t make sense of it — because there’s no sense to it,” said Charlene Lovett, mother of 14-year-old Cheryl Green, who police say was killed by Latino gang members in Harbor Gateway last December.
The annual report by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations found that though hate crimes in 2006 dipped 6% from the previous year, crimes against blacks and crimes committed by gang members and mobs of young people were on the rise. Once again, blacks, gays, Mexicans and other Latinos, and Jews were the most common victims.
Although hate crimes overall were less violent, there were two hate-motivated killings and 13 attempted murders last year, compared with no murders and six such attempts in 2005.
The analysis found 594 hate crimes occurred countywide last year, the second-fewest since 1990. The district attorney filed charges in 129 of the incidents. The commission receives the majority of its data from 47 law enforcement agencies, with the remainder reported by school districts, community groups and victims.
State law defines hate crimes as criminal acts in which bias, hatred or prejudice toward the victim’s real or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation or other characteristic is a major factor.
Last year was marked by several high-profile incidents, including the Halloween night beating of three white women by a group of black youths in Long Beach, and myriad race riots in county jails and juvenile halls and on high school campuses. In another incident described in the report, 14 members of a white supremacist gang en route to a rally stabbed an African American male in front of a Claremont liquor store.
Of racially motivated hate crimes, 59% were against blacks, 22% against Latinos, 7% against Asians, 4% against whites and 4% against Armenians. Latino-targeted hate crimes dropped by a quarter after nearly doubling in 2005, yet anti-immigrant slurs increased, the report said.
Tension between African Americans and Latinos continues to spark violence; the majority of hate crimes against both groups had suspects of the other race.
Hate crimes with gang members as suspects spiked by a third; most of the victims were African Americans not affiliated with a gang.
Instances of hostility between Latinos and blacks “remains a serious and troubling feature of hate crimes in Los Angeles County,” said Robin S. Toma, the commission’s executive director. He cited Harbor Gateway and the Florence-Firestone area in South Los Angeles as neighborhoods of particular concern.
Crimes against gays and lesbians climbed slightly, to 17% of all hate crimes. Homophobic incidents were the most likely to be violent. Religiously motivated incidents declined by 11%, with Jews still the primary target, the report found.
Overall, most offenses were either vandalism or assault. The highest concentrations of hate crimes were in central Los Angeles, the Westside, the Eastside and such cities as Lancaster and Palmdale.
Toma said the county’s hate crimes are dramatically underreported, and could be as much as 28 times higher than the numbers indicate.
The commission emphasized youth outreach efforts, specifically six anti-hate education pilot programs in area high schools, as vital to preventing racially motivated incidents. And Lovett announced the formation of a foundation named for her daughter that will promote racial unity among youths.
“We’re not waiting for those problems to erupt into a racial brawl,” Toma said. “We’re working to build better relationships between students early on.”
The full report can be found at lahumanrelations.org.
susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com
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Hate crimes
Los Angeles County hate crimes last year fell to their second-lowest level since 1990.
Annual reported hate crimes*
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Groups targeted in hate crimes (2006)
Black: 40%
Gay/lesbian: 17%
Mexican/Latino: 15%
Jewish: 11%
Other: 17%
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*A state law requiring law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes was passed in 1989.