LA City Council Approves Recommendations To Improve Framework For Reporting Hate Crimes

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2022

LA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE FRAMEWORK FOR REPORTING HATE CRIMES

LOS ANGELES — Today, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a series of recommendations for the City to expand and improve hate incident reporting through 311, better streamline data coming from different reporting pathways around these kinds of incidents, and implement solutions that address current barriers to hate crime reporting. The recommendations, outlined in a report by City departments, were shared in response to Councilmember Nithya Raman’s motion (Council File 21-0984) to improve the City’s framework for hate incident and hate crime reporting and data collection, passed by the Council in November 2021.

“I feel strongly about this work: the steep rise in hate crimes in LA demands informed policy decisions and broad mitigation strategies. But it is hard to move forward without more reporting and better data that allows us to understand trends on hate crimes,” said Councilmember Raman. “Implementing the recommendations in this report will help us take those next steps in our City, and help us craft culturally informed responses, including expanding investments in hate crime responses that go beyond law enforcement alone.”

The joint report from Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA CHRED), Information Technology Agency (ITA), and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), overviews current City processes for reporting of hate and data collection methods, and identifies existing barriers to hate reporting and trend analysis. The report further provides recommendations for Council action to address these barriers including directing the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to identify funding and resources to build capacity for 311 staff to receive trauma-informed training in order to field hate reporting calls, and directing the CAO and CHRED to identify funding sources to support hate reporting improvements, improve the efficacy of bystander interventions, and support research partnerships to study the feasibility of a reporting app. 

“Hate can have no home in Los Angeles. I am so grateful to leaders like Councilmember Raman for working to protect our most vulnerable, and to make Los Angeles a national leader in hate prevention,” said LA Civil Rights Department Executive Director Capri Maddox. “Today’s vote will allow us to better track and respond to hate crimes, as well as develop models for hate intervention and prevention. It is just one way we are building an LA for all.”

Today’s Council vote is a final approval of the recommended action, formalizing the directions to each department.

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