Hate Crimes Against Asians Rose 20% Statewide in 1997

The number of hate crimes against Asians reported in California increased 20% last year, according to an annual audit of such incidents.

Although the number of such crimes rose in Northern California, outreach efforts in the southern part of the state and an improved economy may have led to a slight decrease in the region, said Karen Narasaki, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, which conducted the survey released Tuesday.

There were 226 hate crimes against Asians in California in 1997, compared to 188 the year before, according to the state attorney general’s office. That contrasts with a 10% drop nationwide, down to 481 from 534 in 1996.

The consortium’s survey of community advocacy groups and local law enforcement found that there were 115 such crimes in Northern California last year, compared to 102 the year before. There were 60 in Southern California in 1997, a slight drop from the year before. Telephone calls to the Los Angeles affiliate of the consortium requesting an exact number were not immediately returned Wednesday.

The drop in Southern California is the second in a row after an 80% increase between 1994 and 1995, when attacks against Asians in Los Angeles County, Orange County and nearby communities leaped from 63 to 113, Narasaki said.

“Part of the difference might be a more proactive effort in Los Angeles County in trying to improve race relations,” Narasaki said.

She added that “unemployment rates have dropped, so you have less scapegoating of immigrants in Southern California than you did around 1995-96 for being economically competitive or being responsible for the economy.”

The consortium said the increase in crimes in Northern California is partly attributable to rapid growth in Asian populations in the Silicon Valley, San Francisco and suburban areas. Incidents ranged from swastikas scrawled on windows of Asian businesses in San Francisco to attacks and racial taunts directed at Southeast Asians in public housing developments in the city.

The numbers come with some caveats because agencies in some states either failed to respond to queries or provided only minimal information about incidents.