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NO. 149
VOL. 11,
Reported hate crimes in LA County rise to highest level in 21 years By City News Service
R
eported hate crimes in Los Angeles County rose to their highest level in 21 years in 2022, jumping 18% from the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday by the county Commission on Human Relations. The report found 929 reported hate crimes in the county last year, up from 790 the prior year. The number is the highest it has been since the 1,031 recorded in 2001. Other findings include the largest number of antitransgender crimes ever tallied, a record-breaking number of anti-immigrant slurs, and a growing rate of hate crime violence. For the past eight years, hate crimes have been trending upward with a 143% increase since 2013. “The release of the county’s Commission on Human Relations (report) comes at a somber time -- a time in which we are seeing what is happening afar having a direct local impact here in LA County,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement. “It is also a reminder that we are
People’s Summit for Democracy in Los Angeles this past summer. | Photo by Mídia NINJA CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED
not immune and hate and violence continue to impact the lives of Angelenos.” Once again, Black resi-
dents were targeted at a higher rate than other racial groups, representing an increase in hate crimes from
219 previously to 294 last year. It is the second-largest number of anti-Black crimes ever reported, the study
found. The number of hate crimes targeting Latino residents rose to 121, and those
showed the highest rate of violence among all racial/ ethnic groups. There were 61 reported anti-Asian crimes last year, revealing a 25% decline from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Crimes based on sexual orientation jumped by 20% year over year, with 81% of those crimes targeting gay men. There were 44 antitransgender crimes, with 91% of those offenses classified as violent, a rate much higher than racial, sexual orientation and religious attacks. Meanwhile, religionbased crimes jumped by 41%, with 83% of the offenses targeting Jews, according to the report. “2022 witnessed deepening divides across the U.S. along lines of political party, race, sexual orientation, religion, and gender identity,” Robin Toma, the commission’s executive director, said in a statement. “Against this backdrop, hate crimes across the nation, including L.A. County, reached historic See Hate crimes Page 24
LA council approves plan for Independent Redistricting Commission By Jose Herrera, City News Service
T
he Los Angeles City Council approved a proposal Wednesday for an Independent Redistricting Commission that would be tasked with redrawing the boundaries of council districts for future elections. Council members voted unanimously on the matter and city officials will now work to prepare the proposal for placement on the November 2024 ballot
for voters to decide. Council President Paul Krekorian said it would be the first time in the city’s history that redistricting would be taken out of the hands of the council and entrusted to a commission through a process that is “transparent, inclusive, and entirely independent.” “In November of next year, we will for the first time have a truly indepen-
dent redistricting, which is completely independent from the City Council,” Krekorian said prior to the vote. Redistricting takes place every 10 years following the completion of the U.S. Census to account for population shifts. Under the city’s current system, council members appoint redistricting commissioners who create new maps,
which are then forwarded to the council for approval and implementation. But Councilwoman Nithya Raman said that over the past couple of years city leaders have lost the trust and faith of the people of Los Angeles. In the wake of the City Hall scandal last year in which three council members, two of them now gone, were caught on a
leaked recording discussing ways to redraw districts in their favor, officials created the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, which is chaired by Krekorian. “One of the ways in which we must respond to that, and we have had to respond to that, is by
actually taking away some of our own power and giving it back to the people of Los Angeles,” Raman said. The proposal approved Wednesday was a culmination of 10 months of discussions and work by the ad hoc committee, and the office of the chief legislative analyst. City officials
See Independent Redistricting Commission Page 23