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Item # 18
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
March 1, 2022
TOPIC: Resolution in Support of Assembly Bill 485
AGENDA TITLE:
Resolution in Support of Assembly Bill 485 Requiring All Law Enforcement Agencies to
Report Hate Crime Data on Their Own Website
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt a resolution in support of Assembly Bill 485 requiring all law enforcement agencies
to report hate crime data on their own website.
DISCUSSION
Background
At the February 1, 2022 City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Bacerra added the
following councilmember requested item: Discuss and consider directing the City
Manager to direct staff to draft a resolution to support Assembly Bill (AB) 485. AB 485
would require local law enforcement agencies to report hate crime data on their own
website monthly. There was consensus among all members of the City Council to
proceed with the agenda item.
Hate Crime and Hate Incident: Definitions
California Penal Code section 422.55, defines Hate Crime as being a criminal act
committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived
characteristics of the victim: Disability, Gender, Nationality, Race or Ethnicity, Religion,
Sexual Orientation, or association with a person or group of persons with one or more of
the preceding actual or perceived characteristics. Examples may include painting racist,
homophobic and/or religious graffiti on private property; burning a cross on an individual’s
lawn; an assault; a criminal threat of violence against an individual or group; attempted
murder or murder.
A bias related incident is behavior that is motivated by hate or bias towards a person’s
actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual
orientation but that is not criminal in nature. Typically these behaviors are protected by
the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. If this type of activity escalates to
Resolution in Support of Assembly Bill 485
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threats being made or carried out against a person or property, or becomes an incitement
to commit violence it would be classified as a hate crime. Examples may include the
distribution of non-threatening racist flyers in a public place; displaying non-threatening
anti-gay or lesbian placards at a parade or funeral; writing a letter to the editor ridiculing
people with disabilities; painting racist graffiti on a freeway overpass.
A hate crime or incident may have occurred if any of the following were present: there
was a perception that the victim was targeted because of their race, gender, sexual
orientation, nationality, religion etc.; the perpetrator wrote or spoke in a manner that
indicated bias; and the date of the incident or crime coincides with a date that is of
significance to the victim’s religion, nationality, ethnicity etc.
Increase in Hate Crimes
In California, the number of hate crime events have fluctuated over the last decade. In
the last 10 years, hate crime events have increased by 25.5 percent with 1,060 reported
in 2011 and 1,330 reported in 2020. The lowest year for reported hate crime events was
2014 with 758 events. Hate crime events increased 31.0 percent from 1,015 in 2019 to
1,330 in 2020. Hate crime offenses increased 23.9 percent from 1,261 in 2019 to 1,563
in 2020. The number of victims of reported hate crimes increased 23.2 percent from 1,247
in 2019 to 1,536 in 2020.
Existing Reporting Requirements and Practices
The state is able to collect and analyze these statistics because of California Penal Code
Section 13023, which requires the Attorney General to direct local law enforcement
agencies to report information relating to hate crimes to the Department of Justice (DOJ),
as specified. It also requires DOJ to post that information on a specified internet website
on or before July 1 of each year. Although the state publishes this hate crime statistics
online, it does not include detailed information by city or local agency. Assembly Bill 485
would further increase transparency and open government by requiring all local law
enforcement agencies to post the information sent to the department on their local agency
internet website on a monthly basis.
The Santa Ana Police Department is one of the few cities in the state that currently posts
hate crime related data on the city website. This was in response to direction received at
the City Council meeting on April 6, 2021, where Mayor Pro Tem Bacerra and
Councilmember Phan presented an item that directed the City Manager to direct Police
Department staff to post monthly reports of hate crime-related data on the Santa Ana
Police Department website. From January 2020 to December 2021, the Santa Ana Police
Department documented 35 Hate Crimes. The Bias-Motivations for these crimes include
13 religious in nature, 15 pertaining to race, ethnicity or national origin and seven (7)
pertaining to sexual orientation. Additional information about each particular incident is
available at www.santa-ana.org/pd/open-government-and-transparency-initiative/hate-
crime-reports.
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In addition to posting hate crime data on the city website, the Santa Ana Police
Department regularly submits this information to the Orange County Human Relations
Commission (Commission) to incorporate in their annual hate crimes report. The
Commission’s most recent report, released in September 2021, showed an overall
increase of 35% in reported hate crimes in Orange County. In 2020 alone, there was an
alarming rise in hate incidents. There was a 69% increase in the total number of hate
incidents reported in 2020. Of the 263 reported cases, there was a 114% increase in
antisemitic hate incidents, an 1800% increase motivated by anti-Asian hate, and a 23%
increase motivated by anti-Black hate.
Resolution
Attached for consideration by the City Council is a resolution (Exhibit 1) in support of AB
485 to require all law enforcement agencies throughout the state to post hate crime data
monthly on their own website.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Resolution
Submitted By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
Approved By: Kristine Ridge, City Manager
Resolution No. 2022-XXX
Page 1 of 2
RESOLUTION 2022-XXX
A RESOLUTION OF THE SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL
SUPPORTING ASSEMBLY BILL 485
WHEREAS, a “hate crime” is defined as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part,
because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including , among other things, race,
religion, disability, and sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, reports of hate crime events in California have increased 25.5% over the past
ten years; and
WHEREAS, in 2020 alone, reports of hate crime events in California increased 31%; and
WHEREAS, existing law requires the Attorney General to direct local law enforcement
agencies to report information relating to hate crimes to the California Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, existing law requires the Department of Justice to update the Open Justice
Web portal with hate crime data on or before July 1st of each year; and
WHEREAS, AB 485, introduced by Assembly Member Nguyen, requires local law
enforcement agencies to post on their websites monthly hate crime data; and
WHEREAS, through the passing of AB 485, California has an opportunity to set a model
for the nation in transparency by providing monthly data on hate crimes to all California residents;
and
WHEREAS, all Californians should have access to monthly hate crime data for their City
to increase awareness of hate crimes in their local area; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Ana Police Department at the direction of the Santa Ana City
Council has posted on its website monthly hate crime data from January 2020 to the present.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana, that:
Section 1. The City of Santa Ana is in strong support of passing AB 485 in California.
Section 2. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City
Council, and the Clerk of Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution.
Resolution No. 2022-XXX
Page 2 of 2
ADOPTED this ____ day of March, 2022.
Vicente Sarmiento
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho
City Attorney
By:
Laura A. Rossini
Chief Assistant City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers
NOES: Councilmembers
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, DAISY GOMEZ, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Resolution
No. 2022 -XXX to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana
on _____________________, 2022.
Date:
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana