California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and several local leaders on Monday, Oct. 23, to discuss hate crimes and ways to combat them.
The discussion was the latest stop for Bonta in a series of 14 meetings he has been holding in cities around the state with elected officials, law enforcement officers and community members to discuss the best ways to tackle incidents of hate. The purpose of the meetings, which he’ll be wrapping up soon, is to inform policy-making and bring awareness to the hate communities are experiencing in California.
“Irvine is an incredibly diverse city,” Khan said at Monday’s meeting in Irvine. “However, we’ve not been immune to hate incidents or hate crimes in our city. We know this isn’t going away, and we have to do our part to make sure that our communities and our cities feel safe.”
Over the last five years, hate activity has been on the rise locally, according to the latest OC Hate Crimes Report. Hate crimes have increased by 75%, and hate incidents – action motivated by hateful bias that is not a crime – rose by 142%. Statewide, officials reported a 20.2% increase in hate crimes in 2022 (hate incidents are not reported for California).
There were 450 reported hate crimes and incidents in Orange County in 2022, and more than half of those were motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin bias.
Data like this helps tell the story, Bonta said, but behind every number is a person.
“We’re here to talk about how we can make a difference together,” Bonta said. “We’re here the (Department of Justice) to ask what do you need from us? What’s working in this community? How can we work better together?”
Yulan Chung, CEO of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, said when one person is affected by hate, the entire community feels it. She and other community members on the panel said they’d like to see more collaboration, accountability and funding go toward…
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