Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in Los Angeles County rose by 76% in 2020 compared with 2019, according to a report published Wednesday.
Last year saw a total of 44 reported anti-Asian hate crimes, up from 25 in 2019. It’s the largest number of such crimes reported since 2001, the report’s authors with the L.A. County Human Relations Commission said.
County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis said that report "shows that we have much more work to do."
"The First District is home to many residents of Asian and Pacific Islander descent," Solis said. "It is disturbing that our AAPI communities continue to be targeted and discriminated against. We must ensure that Los Angeles County is truly a place where everyone can be who they are without fear."
Data was collected from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and more than 40 city police departments, along with law enforcement agencies affiliated with school districts, universities, and community-based organizations.
Of the incidents reported, 23% involved suspects explicitly blaming AAPI victims for the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-seven percent of the crimes reported were violent in nature.
Most slurs reported were anti-Chinese, but hate crimes targeting victims of Japanese, East Indian, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Korean descent were also documented.
In cases where the race of the suspect was known, whites accounted for 42% of the alleged perpetrators, followed by 36% Latino and 19% Black.
"This last finding is particularly important," said Robin Toma, the LACCHR's executive director. "Contrary to impressions which might be drawn from videos in social media posts and news coverage, which are of only a fraction of the actual hate crimes, our report indicates that the racial makeup of suspects committing anti-Asian hate crimes is much more racially diverse."
Otto Solorzano, acting director of the L.A. County Department of Workforce Development, Aging, and Community Services, has cautioned that reality could be far worse than what is reflected in the report. He warned the number of hate crimes against Asian Americans, as well as other marginalized groups, is likely underreported.
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