Valley Hate Crimes Jump 22% in 1999

Hate crimes reported in the Valley jumped 22% last year, police said Thursday. The increase bucks the trend of overall crime, which fell about 12% Valleywide and 11% across the city in 1999.

Two other areas of the city posted similar hate crime leaps last year, according to Los Angeles Police Department data. The LAPD’s Central Bureau recorded a 22% rise and the West Bureau posted a 20% jump. Hate crimes reports rose less than 1% in the South Bureau region.

Det. Tom King, who compiles hate crime statistics for the department, said much of the change was a result of improved reporting, not an actual surge in bias-motivated incidents.

“It’s an increase in reporting and it was completely expected on our part,” King said, adding that the department recently revamped its reporting procedures, better training officers to recognize hate incidents and decentralizing data collection.

Some of the increase, however, may result from demographic shifts that bring people of different backgrounds into closer contact, he said.

“When you have an area that is going through demographic transition, you tend to have a few more hate crimes, until people get used to each other,” King said.

The most hate crimes--56--were reported in the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division. The Devonshire and West Valley areas each recorded 49 such incidents in 1999, while Foothill reported 29 hate crimes. The North Hollywood Division tallied 23 hate crimes last year, according to police statistics.

The statistics include a brazen spree of hate-inspired violence in August--the Granada Hills shooting rampage allegedly carried out by Buford O. Furrow, a white supremacist. Furrow is accused of wounding five people at a Jewish day camp and of later killing a Filipino American postman.

Aaron Levison, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Valley office, said his group isn’t sure why the Valley has seen a jump in hate crimes, adding that it could be attributed to more people filing police reports.

“We’re concerned, but we’re not advocating paranoia,” he said. “People should be on alert and know this is a problem. We need to stand together to fight this.”

The ADL and other groups have formed a San Fernando Valley Hate Crimes Alliance, which will host its first community meeting Monday. The alliance is made up of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, county Human Relations Commission, the ADL and the LAPD, with support from local organizations and politicians.

If the coalition is successful, the number of reported hate crimes would very likely jump again, participants said. The group aims to teach people about the legal definition of hate crimes and encourage them to report such incidents.

“It’s my hope the four organizations can serve as a catalyst to bring the community together so people who are working on [reducing] hate crimes, or should be working on it, can plot a course of action in their neighborhood,” said Andrea Adleman, spokeswoman for the Human Relations Commission.

Monday’s meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. at Verdugo Hills High School, 10625 Plainview Ave. in Tujunga.

The alliance plans to host community meetings in each of the Valley’s five LAPD divisions. The next meeting is April 18 in the north Valley’s Devonshire Division.

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Stassel is a Times staff writer; Fox is a correspondent.