El Monte hosts forum on hate crimes and how to report them

A hate crime forum intended to raise awareness, foster community support and advocate against hate-motivated offenses was held in El Monte on March 20, a city where 72% of its population is Latino. 

The two-hour forum was broken down into different sections and participants were able to learn about the federal overview of hate crime laws and investigations and get a deeper understanding of the statistics on hate crimes in Los Angeles County. Presenters also provided community, city and federal resources available to victims of hate incidents or hate crimes. 

According to a report that Marshall Wong, L.A. County human services administrator, presented at the forum, the second-largest group of victims of racial hate crimes in 2022 were Latinos. 

Similar to the previous year, Latinos were targeted in 22% of racial hate crimes. Anti-Latino crimes rose 3% from 117 to 121. In 73% of these crimes, specifically anti-Mexican slurs were employed. 

The report also stated that Latinos are less likely to report crimes because of a distrust in law enforcement or concerns about immigration status, something that Wong also expressed on Wednesday’s forum. “We believe underreporting increases when there are barriers like linguistic and cultural isolation, fear about immigration status or lack of understanding and suspicion about law enforcement systems,” he said. 

Reported hate crimes in L.A. County rose to their highest level in 21 years in 2022, jumping 18% from the previous year, according to the latest data published last November. 

The L.A. County’s Commission on Human Relations Hate Crime Report is released annually and the 2023 hate incidents and crimes are currently being accounted for. 

Wong, who is the principal author of the annual report, said the commission has been collecting and analyzing hate crime data since 1980. “Only half of the hate crimes are ever reported to law enforcement so we believe our report only covers the tip of the iceberg,” Wong said. 

According to the report, race was by far the most common motivation, constituting 57% of all hate crimes in 2022, a 14% jump from the previous year. In addition, hate crimes in which anti-immigrant slurs were used continued to climb 12% and the 94 crimes comprised the largest number ever recorded. The report also showed that the largest number of hate crimes took place in the Metro Region, which stretches from West Hollywood to Boyle Heights, followed by the San Fernando Valley.

The event, which the El Monte Police Department organized along with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (LADA), was held at Lambert Park.

Lambert Park’s gym held approximately 80 attendees, consisting of community members from law enforcement, attorneys, community advocacy organizations, and other groups who came together to talk about the impacts of hate crimes locally, statewide and nationally. 

“Every day we witness the devastating impacts of hate-fueled violence on individuals, families and entire communities. These reprehensible acts are not only assaults on individual victims, they're assaults on the principles of equality, tolerance and respect that form the foundation of our democratic society,” Jake Fisher, El Monte Police Chief, said. “We also recognize the importance of prevention and community engagement, which is why we are here today. We strive to build trust and partnerships with all members of our community, particularly those who are vulnerable to hate-motivated violence.”

Fisher also mentioned that El Monte Police has been offering their officers ongoing cultural training and education for law enforcement to combat systemic inequalities and biases that perpetuate hate and discrimination, and assured attendees that they will continue to do so. 

The forum also featured speakers from the Office of the United States Attorney for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who talked about the importance of reporting hate crimes and federal discrimination laws that protect everyone against discrimination in areas such as housing (the Fair Housing Act), education (the Civil Rights Act and Title IX), public accommodations (the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI), voting (the Voting Rights Act) and employment (the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathrynne Seiden prosecutes several federal hate crimes that take place in California. She said reporting and prosecuting hate crimes is important not only because violent perpetrators are off the streets but also because it is important to send a message that the rest of the community does not stand for that type of sentiment.

“It's not just the victim of the hate crime that is impacted; many times it's the entire community, everyone who shares that tarsi with the victim of that specific hate crime, whether it’s locally or even nationwide,” she said. “Sometimes that's usually the intent of a hate crime: to scare people, to make a statement against the people who share that trait that they are not welcome in that community.“ 

Supervisory Special Agent Allan Roth Mackins from the FBI said that “all doors are open when it comes to reporting a crime” and incentivizes everyone who has been a victim or witness of a crime to file a report, which can also be done anonymously.

Mackins explained that although the FBI only investigates and prosecutes federal hate crimes, people are encouraged to report them to the FBI or any other local or statewide law enforcement agency. “When [someone] comes to the FBI, my agents look into it as thoroughly as we can, and then we decide if they get brought back to the local district attorney’s office or city attorney's office and tell them, 'Hey, I think you got a local hate crime case; let me make sure that gets persecuted and that the evidence is used to get justice,’” he said. 

At the end of the forum, attendees were presented with resources to report and seek assistance when it comes to hate crimes or incidents. One of the resources listed was CA vs Hate, a new multilingual statewide hotline and online portal that provides a safe, anonymous reporting option for victims and witnesses of hate acts. CA vs Hate was officially launched in May 2023 and is led by the California Civil Rights Department. Hate crime survivors living in a part of the Golden State can anonymously call 1- 833-866-4283 (1-833-8-NO-HATE) and receive support services from CA vs Hate care coordinators, who are on duty Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Another local resource is LA vs Hate, a community-centered system designed to support all residents and communities targeted for hate acts in LA County. Anyone may report anonymously and receive access to additional community-based and crisis care resources. In addition, information about hate crime incidents or crimes may be submitted anonymously online or by calling 2-1-1. Visit the LA Civil, Human Rights, and Equity Department’s resource page HERE for additional state and legal resources.