Report: Black Californians Remain Top Hate Crime Victims; Prosecutions Climb

Edward Henderson | California Black Media (CBM) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the 2023 Hate Crime in California Report on June 29, providing data and resources to support ongoing efforts across the state to combat violence motivated by racial or other biases.  Overall, reported hate crime events& in California& decreased by 7.1% from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023. Despite that general downward trend, anti-Black bias incidents in the state& remained& the most prevalent.& Year after year, this disturbing statistic holds true despite a 20.6% decrease from& 652 in 2022 to 518 in 2023. The next highest reporting of bias events was 199 Anti-Hispanic or Latino instances. “The California Department of Justice has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hate, and will continue working with law enforcement, elected leaders, and community organizations across the state to keep our communities safe through education, prevention, and enforcement,”& said Attorney General Robert Bonta in a statement after releasing the report. “We won’t let bigots and bad actors win. We will not let hate prevail,” said Bonta The report also found that prosecutions inched up by 5% (about 32 percentage points). According to the Attorney General’s report, from 2022 to...