Police Panel Seeks Hate-Crime Case Training

A Los Angeles Police Commission task force is proposing to enhance officer training so police will be better at identifying and investigating hate crimes, officials said Wednesday.

Additionally, the task force compiled detailed investigative guidelines that patrol officers can follow when responding to potential hate crimes. The thrust of the task force’s work is to improve the quality of cases presented for prosecution under anti-hate-crime statutes.

“The procedures are designed to aid officers in the field and help them know what questions to ask when confronted with a hate crime,” said Commissioner Dean Hansell, who chaired the panel’s task force. “What this does is bring our training up to date and sharpen the focus.”

The LAPD investigates about 400 hate crimes annually. In the first three months of this year, the LAPD reported 121 hate crimes, a trend which suggests the city will surpass the 434 such offenses reported last year.

Moreover, law enforcement experts believe the number of hate crimes is underreported by residents and not always recognized by police.

Racial bigotry is the most common type of hate crime, followed by incidents against gays and lesbians and Jews and Muslims.

“This is a critically important issue to society and the department,” Cmdr. Dave Kalish said. “We will continue look for ways to vigorously crack down on these heinous crimes.”

The commission’s Hate Crimes Task Force included representatives from the Police Department, district attorney’s office, city attorney’s office, county and city human relations commissions and community organizations, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

As part of the updated training program, the task force overhauled a lesson plan that teaches officers precisely what hate crimes are, what motivates such crimes and who commits them. The lesson plan, which is detailed in a 12-page document, also covers how officers are expected to respond to and investigate hate-crime incidents.

Hansell said officers who arrive at the scene of a potential hate crime must pay attention to a suspect’s comments, tattoos--such as swastikas--and personal belongings or pamphlets that may contain expressions of hatred.

Hansell said the task force’s recommendations are being reviewed by top LAPD officials. He said he expects the task force’s work to be approved within the next several months.