Orange County will release the new Hate Crimes Report on Friday

SANTA ANA, Calif. (September 13, 2021)— On September 17, 2021, the public is invited to participate in the virtual release of the Orange County 2020 Hate Crimes Report, where the Orange County Human Relations Commission will present Orange County hate activity trends for 2020. The County produces and publishes this report annually to increase awareness, strengthen hate crime prevention programming, and promote a bias-free community.

The 2020 Hate Crimes Report reflects an increase in both hate incidents and crimes from 2019 in Orange County, with the most frequently reported hate crime being motivated by the person’s race, ethnicity, and/or national origin, followed by religious intolerance and anti-LGBTQ.

In 2020, hate incidents in Orange County more than doubled from 2019. Of the 263 reported hate incidents reported, 76 cases were related to anti-Asian discrimination, a ten-fold increase from last year. Anti-Semitism also saw a significant rise with 94 hate incidents reported compared to 44 in 2019.

“The rising worldwide statistics of hate crimes are alarming,” said Chairman Andrew Do, First District Supervisor. “Racial discrimination has serious and long-lasting negative impacts on our community, as well as on people’s physical health and psychological well-being. We must come together and support one another as people to help create a better world for our children.” 

Report Release Information:

Date: Friday, September 17, 2021

Time:  9-10:30 a.m.

Location:  Webinar via Zoom

Speakers: Chairman Andrew Do, Orange County Board of Supervisors; Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer; Priscilla Huang, Asian Americans in Action; Douglas Haynes; University of California, Irvine

Registration: https://bit.ly/hatecrimereport20; Registration closes Friday, September 17.

The Orange County 2020 Hate Crimes Report will also be available online upon release on the OC Human Relations Commission website at http://occommunityservices.org/ochrc. For registration assistance and more information, please contact Norma Lopez at (714) 697-5069.

The County of Orange would like to thank the Orange County Human Relations Commission who are volunteer members of the public appointed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to seek out the causes of tension and conflict; discrimination and intolerance based on race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or marital status; and attempt to eliminate those causes.

The County of Orange would also like to thank the Orange County Human Relations Council, which is contracted by the County to support the Commission and work closely with law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, diverse faith leaders, and community members to respond and track hate crimes and incidents on behalf of the County.

To learn more about services provided by the County through the OC Human Relations Commission, please visit occommunityservices.org/ochrc.