VIOLENT BIGOTRY ON RISE IN AREA HATE CRIMES SOAR 26%, PANEL FINDS.Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer Hate crimes in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County surged 26 percent last year, fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment, white supremacist white supremacist n. One who believes that white people are racially superior to others and should therefore dominate society. white supremacy n. Noun 1. activity and racial tension in schools, jails and neighborhoods, officials said Thursday. Bucking national and statewide trends -- and reversing three years of declines -- the number of hate crimes countywide hit 633, with about half involving violence, says the report from the county's Human Relations human relations npl → relaciones fpl humanas Commission. Hate crimes against blacks rose 47 percent -- from 156 to 230 -- while anti-Latino incidents soared 179 percent -- from 19 to 53. Specifically anti-Mexican crimes rose 71 percent, from 41 to 70. In contrast, the number of hate crimes statewide dropped 6 percent last year, and the number nationwide dropped 8 percent. ``We see additional evidence of the tension between the (Latino and black) communities in the widespread occurrence of brawls in the county jails, juvenile-detention facilities and public schools,'' said Robin Toma, executive director of the county's Human Relations Commission. Gangs key factors The data showed that gang members were responsible for five of the six hate-motivated attempted homicides last year. And nearly 80 percent of the racially motivated crimes involved unprovoked attacks by Latino gangs against blacks, the report says. The commission also found racial hate crimes in or near schools rose 256 percent, from 18 to 64. The majority of the fights involved black-Latino conflicts, primarily in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. but also at Sylmar and North Hollywood high schools. Riots were reported at 14 campuses, primarily involving blacks and Latinos. ``I'm not happy to see there is an increase in ethnic hate crimes involving African-Americans and Latinos,'' county Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke said. ``The only way we are going to stop this is to get to the core of some of the feelings behind this.'' The Rev. Eric P. Lee, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. of Greater Los Angeles, said violence and hatred is rooted in low employment, poor educational opportunities and the high cost of living. ``Working-class people have to struggle to survive, and in that struggle we lose sight of the fact that our enemy is not those who live next to us, but institutional injustices. There are some economic and social issues and pressures that are creating this climate of violence,'' Lee said. ``We have to attack hatred by loving one another. ... We have to deal with hatred as a spiritual wickedness that we must defeat.'' Hating immigrants The contentious debate over immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. also fueled some of the growth in hate crimes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the report. ``We have to have a civil debate on the immigration issue,'' said Alvaro Huerta, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles. ``It's going to be a big issue next year.'' The report also found an increase in white supremacist crimes, which now account for 17 percent of the hate crimes in Los Angeles County, said Commission President Adrian Dove. In one incident, students at a San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. elementary school elementary school: see school. were heard making loud comments including ``Hitler was right,'' according to an Anti-Defamation League Anti-Defamation League B’nai B’rith organization which fights anti-Semitism. [Am. Hist.: Wigoder, 33] See : Anti-Semitism statement. On another occasion, a teacher at a Los Angeles high school Los Angeles High School, founded in 1873, is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. returned from the Yom Kippur Yom Kippur [Heb.,=day of atonement], in Judaism, the most sacred holy day, falling on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (usually late September or early October). It is a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness for sins committed during the year. holiday to find the windows of his classroom painted with swastikas. Amanda Susskind, director of the Pacific Southwest Region of the ADL, said anti-Semitic incidents have continued a three-year upward trend in California. Jews targeted In the county, religious hate crimes rose 25 percent, from 81 in 2004 to 101 last year. Anti-Semitic hate crimes constituted 81 percent of religious-based crimes, up from 78 percent the previous year. ``There are some really evil forces in our community that are reaching kids and getting into the playgrounds and schoolyards,'' Susskind said. Of the total hate crime reports, slightly more than half -- or 333 -- occurred in Los Angeles, according to the report. That was up 33 percent from the previous year, according to the commission report. But Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . Lt. Paul Vernon said department
figures show a 10 percent drop in hate crimes -- from 293 in 2004 to 264
last year.
And Vernon said the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. expects an 8 percent further drop this year. ``They had a few more reported to them that didn't get reported to us somehow,'' Vernon said. ``Depending on how you organize the numbers, it can appear to be an increase or a decrease. We are reporting consistently what is reported to us, and we show it as a 10 percent decrease.'' In the northern portion of the county patrolled by the Sheriff's Department -- including Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Lancaster, Malibu, Palmdale, Santa Clarita and Westlake Village -- 75 hate crimes occurred last year, up from 52 in 2004, according to the commission. Along the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. and eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley -- including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, San Fernando, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge and Alhambra -- 24 hate crimes occurred last year, up from 19 in 2004. In the east San Gabriel Valley -- where Azusa, Claremont, Diamond Bar, San Dimas and Walnut are among more than a dozen cities -- 56 hate crimes occurred last year, up from 42 in 2004. And in Long Beach and Signal Hill, 23 hate crimes occurred last year, up from 20 in 2004. troy.anderson@dailynews.com (213) 974-8985 CAPTION(S): box, chart Box: Hate Crime Categories Chart: Total Hate Crimes Source: Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations Daily News |
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