RELIGIOUS HATE SOARS/ CRIME TARGETING VICTIMS BY THEIR FAITH CLIMB 33 PERCENT STATEWIDE.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Hate crimes motivated by religion have increased nearly 33 percent and anti-Jewish hate crimes have risen more than 42 percent statewide since 1996, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Friday.

Even though the total number of hate crimes decreased 5 percent statewide in 2000 compared to 1996, California has the most of any state - 1,957 last year.

From 1996 to 2000, religion-motivated hate crimes jumped from 227 to 301 statewide, and anti-Semitic hate crimes increased from 166 to 236.

``The good news is that hate crimes reported in California in the last few years have declined modestly,'' Lockyer said. ``We don't know if that means we are a more tolerant society or if there are perhaps failures to report.''

Lockyer challenged some prosecutors to adopt a more aggressive policy, citing statistics showing that the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office was referred 65 hate crimes last year but only filed cases on nine and obtained convictions in five.

``One out of seven is a rather low ratio of prosecutions compared to many, many other places,'' Lockyer said. ``The county of Los Angeles, for example, had 214 referrals and prosecuted 158 as hate crimes.''

Lockyer also criticized the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which was referred 11 cases and only prosecuted three.

``I would recommend to the City Attorney's Office and the district attorney of Orange County that perhaps they review their own processes and protocols to see if they can strengthen enforcement of hate crimes in those communities.''

Lockyer's criticism of former City Attorney James Hahn - who became mayor of Los Angeles in July - met with a strong reaction Friday from Hahn's spokeswoman, Julie Wong.

Wong said felony cases are handled by the county District Attorney's Office while the cases referred to the City Attorney's Office are misdemeanors that often involve allegations such as someone making a derogatory statement to someone else.

``That person files the case as a misdemeanor,'' Wong said. ``It's not a good thing, but it's not necessarily a crime. Those cases are dismissed and not prosecuted.''

She said Hahn ``strongly addressed hate crime issues'' by starting a special hate crimes unit in the City Attorney's Office. ``He also worked to provide greater coordination with the District Attorney's Office,'' Wong said.

Lockyer issued the new statistics on the two-year anniversary of the Aug. 10, 1999, shooting rampage by white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr., who wounded five people at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and killed Filipino-American postal worker Joseph Ileto in Chatsworth. Furrow was sentenced in March to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

``Our family is here today because of what happened exactly two years ago when our brother and our mom's son was killed in a hate crime,'' said Deena Ileto. ``We still feel the loss and shock of what happened to our brother.''

Dana Friedlander, director of domestic affairs for the American Jewish Committee, said people watched in horror the images on television of the children linked hand in hand fleeing the center in Granada Hills.

``The horror of that day has not ended,'' she said.

In Los Angeles County, the number of hate crimes rose from 809 in 1999 to 829 last year, an increase of 2.5 percent, with the number in the city of Los Angeles growing from 543 to 559, a 2.9 percent increase.

``Compared to the rest of the country, California has the largest number of reported hate crimes,'' said Robin Toma, executive director of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. ``Los Angeles County has the largest number of reported hate crimes in the United States.''

With the largest number of hate crimes of any state, California reported 1,957 hate crimes in 2000 involving 2,352 victims and 2,107 known suspects. That compares to 1,962 hate crimes in 1999 involving 2,436 victims and 2,021 known suspects.

Of the six hate-crime homicides that occurred in the state last year - up from three in 1999 - five occurred in Los Angeles County, including three in Los Angeles and one in the San Fernando Valley.

In the Valley fatality, a white Hermosa Beach woman was accused in September of driving over a Latino man in Van Nuys. Officials said Marie Elise West ran over and killed Jesus Plasencia-Ponce of Reseda because of his race.

She was charged with murder with a hate crime as a special circumstance and is in a state psychiatric hospital after she was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Stewart Kwoh, executive director of the Asian-Pacific American Legal Center, said the statistics don't bear out what Asian-Americans experience.

``Even though the statistics may show a very slight decrease, we know that violent activity has actually increased, at least for the Asian-American community,'' he said.

Rev. G. Lind Taylor, director of hate crimes prevention at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said hate crimes can be fought through education and working together.

``Hate is a malignancy we can cure if we work together,'' Taylor said. ``We can resist hate and embrace love. We continue to say that only love, not violence, can combat hate.''

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HATE CRIMES SCORECARD