Hate Crimes Up Against Latinos, Gays in County : Report: Overall number of incidents declined slightly from 1993. About 20% occurred in the Valley, showing a 19% drop.

Violence targeting Latinos, gays and lesbians increased sharply last year despite a slight drop in hate crimes throughout Los Angeles County, according to a report released Wednesday.

Compiling incidents from various police departments and private watchdog groups, the county Commission on Human Relations documented 776 hate crimes in 1994--seven fewer than in 1993. It was the first decrease since the commission began reporting 15 years ago.

“We’re hopeful that it is a positive sign,” said commission’s Executive Director Ron Wakabayashi at a news conference following the report’s release. He added that although the sum has decreased, it is clear that the largest problem surveyors face is the underreporting of hate crimes, primarily by victims.

Of the county’s 776 hate crimes last year, 160--or about 20%--were reported in the San Fernando Valley. Yet that represents a 19% decrease for the Valley from 1993. North Hollywood had the highest total for 1994, with 24 incidents, followed by Van Nuys, which had 21.

Even with the general decline in attacks against most ethnic groups, however, hate crimes against Latinos increased 23.5%, from 68 incidents to 84. County officials blamed the rise on the same anti-immigrant sentiment that was behind Proposition 187, as well as more vigilant reporting by advocacy groups.

Attacks against gay men and lesbians increased 32.4%, which Wakabayashi attributed to “growing homophobia.” He cited similar increases in hate crimes against gays and lesbians in Orange County.

Physical assaults motivated by sexual orientation increased from 241 in 1993 to 319 last year, with gay men the large majority of victims. Yet lesbians were increasingly targeted in 1994. The report tallied 54 incidents, a staggering 80% increase over 1993.

Threats against gays and lesbians also surged--by 60.9%, according to the county.

Just as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center acknowledged in its own recent report--which reported a 53% rise in anti-gay incidents last year--the county commission linked the rise to more active reporting by advocacy groups.

Last year, 39 law-enforcement and community groups participated in compiling the report, compared to only nine such groups in 1993, Wakabayashi said.

“The sign is that there is a building of response to hate crimes,” he said.

The commission’s report also noted that despite the increase in participation from private organizations, the number of reports from the county’s two largest law-enforcement agencies decreased noticeably.

The LAPD reported a 24% decrease in hate crimes, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported a 54% decrease last year as compared to 1993, the commission said.

At the news conference, county officials attributed the decline in police reports to a general decrease in violent crime throughout the city of Los Angeles and the implementation of community-based policing, which focuses on preventing crime rather than responding to it.

Although the number of violent crimes reported by the LAPD has decreased, hate crimes involving physical attacks remained steady at 40%, according to the commission’s report.

Hate crimes involving attempted murder increased from four incidents in 1993 to 10 in 1994.

The county report also notes that young men were the perpetrators in 90.9% of the hate crimes reported, a trend that officials said points to a need for more, and earlier, diversity programs in schools.

Hate crimes based on religion dropped 21.8% from 119 to 93 incidents, according to the report. But the first hate crime against a disabled person was reported in 1994.

Hate crimes are considered among the most difficult cases to solve because many victims do not report them, particularly immigrants who fear a backlash.

They “may have a fear or trepidation of coming forth to law enforcement,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carla Arranaga, who has investigated many hate crimes.

The report was made public a day after County Supervisor Mike Antonovich proposed that the commission conduct a study into recent skinhead attacks on African Americans in the Antelope Valley. Antonovich’s proposal also calls for the commission to report to the Board of Supervisors within 60 days with possible solutions to the problem.

Wakabayashi said the commission is already taking steps to look into the skinhead threat.

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(San Fernando Valley Edition, A1) Crimes of Bias

In 1993, for the first time, gay men became the most frequent targets of hate crimes in Los Angeles County. This trend continued in 1994, with a 25.6% increase over the previous year. Crimes against Latinos and lesbians were also increased over 1993.

Breakdown of crimes by geography, type of crime and victims:

In 1994, race and sexual orientation triggered the greatest number of crimes reported.

Racial: 362

Sexual Orientation: 319

Religious: 93

Valley Crimes

Of 776 hate crimes reported in the county last year, 160 were in Valley communities. North Hollywood had the most, followed by Van Nuys.

Valley: 20.6%

Rest of L.A. County: 79.45

Most Common Crimes

Type of crime and percentage of incidents reported in Los Angeles County in 1994.

1. Assault with deadly weapon: 27.4%

2. Assault/battery: 25.4%

3. Criminal threats: 15.55

4. Vandalism: 13.8%

5. Robbery: 5.0%

The Victims

The proportion of gay men, lesbians, and African Americans who were hate crime victims far exceeded the relative size of those populations.

Figures for L.A. County:

Gay men

1994: 265

1993: 211

African American

1994: 159

1993: 179

White

1994: 86

1993: 112

Jewish

1994: 85

1993: 114

Latino

1994: 84

1993: 68

Lesbian

1994: 54

1993: 30

Asian

1994: 29

1993: 44

Other

1994: 13

1993: 25

Source: Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations Please see B1 for more on hate crimes