O.C. grand jury urges action on underreported hate crimes

Orange County officials should do more to address hate crimes and incidents, according to a grand jury report released Thursday that also criticized a reduction in oversight and coordination efforts.

Although the number of reported hate crimes dropped from 112 in 2022 to 95 in 2023, the report said the data may not reflect the true scope of the problem due to underreporting and missing data from Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Orange and Westminster.

“Civil rights organizations cautioned that the apparent drop in hate crimes might reflect underreporting rather than an actual reduction,” the grand jurors said in the report.

“For example, the Anti-Defamation League documented 88 antisemitic incidents in the Orange County/Long Beach region in 2023, a sharp increase from 55 the prior year, suggesting that the official data may under-represent the true scope of the problem.”

The grand jurors said there was also criticism of “the limited inclusion of community partners in the count’s reporting process and highlighted the exclusion of noncriminal hate incidents, such as verbal harassment, distribution of hate fliers, and school-based bullying, which are often left out of law enforcement data.”

The grand jury concluded that there are “substantial barriers to reporting both hate crimes and hate incidents, such as fear of retaliation, distrust of law enforcement, and cultural stigma, which contribute to widespread underreporting.”

There are also “inconsistencies and gaps in how hate crimes and incidents are documented, primarily due to the decentralized nature of data collection” and “diminished collaboration between governmental bodies and community-based organizations.”

Last June, the Orange County Board of Supervisors “abruptly ended their partnership” with the O.C. Human Relations Council, a nonprofit that has rebranded as Groundswell, the grand jury noted.

The supervisors shrunk the Orange County Human Relations Commission, a government entity, from 11 to seven members and cut out representatives from the cities as well as law enforcement. But the law enforcement representatives were added back this January.

The grand jury noted that an ad hoc committee of the commission was working to define hate incidents, which are not crimes.

“The grand jury questions the rationale behind this objective, given that the [Department of Justice] established a widely accepted definition of hate incidents in 1990, which has already been adopted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement agencies,” the report said.

The grand jury found that the county “lacks a centralized, coordinated, county-led system that unites all stakeholders to prevent and respond to hate crimes and incidents.”

The grand jury also found that the county’s school districts lack a “centralized database of available materials, resources, and programs for addressing hate crimes and incidents, limiting their ability to effectively
combat hate.”

The grand jury said that since racism is a “learned behavior,” it shows the importance of “early intervention” before sixth grade to promote “tolerance and respect.”

The grand jury encouraged county officials to continue funding various programs combating hate crimes and incidents and to “restore the Human Relations Commission to its original 11-member makeup that includes representatives from cities, and should reinstate their monthly meetings.”

Also, the grand jury recommends that by the end of August, the supervisors “should request a status report from the Human Relations Commission on its activities and plans since the termination of its contract with Groundswell.”

The panel suggested the county direct the commission to “form a Hate Prevention and Response Coalition modeled after the former Groundswell effort. To avoid duplication, boost impact, and gather better data, it should include representatives from cities, sheriff’s department, district attorney, schools, community groups and affected residents. The coalition should create countywide hate crime protocols, support victims, promote inclusive education and host public events.”

The grand jury recommended that local law enforcement should “increase outreach efforts that encourage the public to report hate crimes and incidents, even if the reports are anonymous. Anonymous reports should be
tabulated separately.”

The grand jury wants sheriff’s officials to collaborate with local law enforcement and nonprofits to develop a “centralized portal or reporting mechanism” that would “streamline the process, improve data capture, and make it easier to track and address hate crimes and incidents.”

The grand jury called on the Orange County Department of Education to develop a centralized database of materials and resources and programs focusing on hate crimes and incidents for students as well as expanding curriculums for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.