LOS ANGELES _ As hate crimes surge in California and across the country, Los Angeles law enforcement leaders came together Wednesday to promise they will not let the city fall victim to fear.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey spoke about the wide-ranging effects that bias crimes can have on the city and county, urging victims of crimes with a racial or religious motive to come forward immediately.
Hate crimes are often underreported. Feuer said victims should not fear speaking to police because of their immigration status.
"Acts of hate tear at the fabric of who we are as a nation, and we want to send a strong message that no one should be reluctant or afraid to report a hate crime," he said. "None of us is ever going to re-victimize someone who is either a victim or a witness of a hate crime."
Hate crimes surged in California and across the nation last year, and a spate of bias incidents that followed Donald Trump's victory on Election Day have also drawn serious concerns from police and human rights activists.
Beck said hate crimes have increased in Los Angeles by 19 percent compared to last year, and the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations reported a 24 percent increase in bias crimes in 2015. The 483 reported hate crimes in the county marked the largest total since 2011, according to the commission.
Bias crimes rose by 7 percent across the U.S. in 2015, according to FBI data, and crimes deemed "anti-Muslim" rocketed by nearly 67 percent. There were 257 reported bias crimes against Muslims last year, compared to 154 in 2014.
Beck did not blame the local increase on any particular group, despite concerns that the recent election cycle has mobilized fringe white separatist and nationalist groups.
Hate crimes, Beck said, need to be combated swiftly because of the outsize effect they can have on communities that are victimized.
"The fear of other is very, very strong in humanity. ... This cannot stand," he said. "This cannot be something we allow as a people."
