The California Department of Justice launched new programs in 2021 to try to better combat hate crimes and are currently stressing the importance of reporting these incidents to law enforcement so that officials understand the scope of the problem and can better deploy resources, reports KTLA. California hate crime offenses increased over 42 percent in 2021 with double-digit percentage increases in crimes involving bias against race, sexual orientation and religion. Anti-Asian bias events were up more than 177 percent.
Experts say the pandemic may have played a role in the increase in these targeted attacks. So far this year, data show police in Los Angeles have seen hate crimes decline slightly, down 1 percent, but residents worry that many of the offenses are still going unreported.