NCJ Number
201984
Date Published
June 2003
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This report on hate crime in California for 2002 encompasses the number of such crimes, the bias motivation involved, the type of crime, and prosecution and trend data.
Abstract
Hate-crime incidents decreased 26.6 percent from those reported for 2001 (1,659 vs. 2,261), and the number of victims of such crimes decreased 28.6 percent from the previous year. Hate crimes related to the victims' race/ethnicity/national origin decreased 32.1 percent compared to 2001 (1,036 vs. 1,526). Anti-gay (male homosexual) hate crime events decreased 22.4 percent from the previous year (267 vs. 344). Violent hate crime events decreased 26.6 percent from the previous year (1,217 vs. 1,658), and property hate crime events decreased 26.7 percent from 2001 (442 vs. 603). A total of 351 complaints were filed as hate crimes by district attorneys and elected city attorneys; 253 convictions were obtained; 164 were for hate crimes, and 89 were for non-bias motivated crimes. Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander hate crime offenses have steadily decreased every year for the period from 1997 through 2002. Anti-White hate crime offenses for this same period have decreased each year, with the exception of 2000, when they increased 12.6 percent over 1999. Hate crimes motivated by a bias toward the victim's sexual orientation have remained steady at between 20.1 and 22.3 percent of all hate crime offenses over the period 1997-2002. Murder offenses classified as hate crimes have amounted to two to five per year since hate crime reporting began in California in 1995. Extensive tables and figures