Report: Hate Crime Down Countywide

Reported hate crimes across Los Angeles County fell by 28 percent last year, according to the county Commission on Human Relations' annual report released Thursday. The number of crime reports reached its lowest level in 21 years.

The commission defines a hate crime as one where hatred or prejudice toward a victim's race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation was a substantial factor in the crime.

Here in the South Bay, there were 50 hate crimes reported last year, and there were 427 reported hate crimes countywide last year, a decline of 166 from the previous year, according to the 2010 Hate Crime Report (a PDF copy of the report is available on the county department website.)

Fifty-one percent of the crimes were race-based, with 53 percent of those targeting blacks, according to the report.

The report showed that 59 percent of racially motivated crimes against blacks were committed by Latinos, and 68 percent of racially motivated crimes targeting Latinos were committed by blacks.

Crimes based on sexual orientation remained at about the same level as the previous year—26 percent of all of the hate crimes—but were more likely to be violent than either racial or religious-related hated crimes, and gay men were targeted in 86 percent of the sexual orientation-based cases.

"The overall decline in hate crimes is a good trend, but it is still disturbing, the overwhelming majority of those motivated by religions in Los Angeles County, statewide and across the country are against Jews and Jewish institutions," said Amanda Susskind, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group with a focus on documenting and fighting anti-Semitism.

The highest rate of hate crimes took place in the San Fernando Valley, followed by the metro region stretching from West Hollywood to Boyle Heights. The San Gabriel Valley and the southeastern portion of the county had the lowest rates.

The commission's report was generated from data collected from sheriff and city police departments, including the , school districts and community groups.

— City News Service contributed to this report.