Hate crimes are on the rise in many metropolitan cities in both the U.S. and California. Incidents in San Diego increased 65% in 2022, CBS reports. New data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino show a 13% increase in Los Angeles between 2021 and 2022.
Over the past three years, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office has prosecuted 23 hate crimes. City Attorney Mara Elliott believes the true number of incidents is higher since so many go unreported.
Mayor Todd Gloria addressed rising hate during the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors last week. He also had a message for perpetrators that he shared with CBS: “We will prosecute you. We will put you in jail. It is unacceptable. There's no place for hate in our city.”
Rising hate has prompted a number of governments to declare racism a public health crisis. Declarations have been passed in Coachella, Goleta, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland and the counties of Monterey, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.