Hate crime reports are down in Sacramento, but may rise as presidential election approaches
Reports of hate crimes appear to be down so far in 2024, but some experts warn that they may rise as the presidential election approaches in November.
In the first four months of 2024 — the most recent time frame for which data is available — 84 hate crimes were reported in the city of Sacramento, according to data from the Sacramento Police Department. In comparison, 115 hate crimes were reported in the first four months of 2023, and 129 hate crimes in 2022.
Many hate crimes also go unreported for various reasons, which include public distrust of law enforcement and difficulty for victims to present explicit evidence acceptable to authorities.
Out of the 2024 reports, 36 were anti-Black, seven were anti-Asian, six were anti-Hispanic or Latino, five were anti-Arab or Middle Eastern/East Indian, and one was anti-Pacific Islander. There were two anti-Muslim reports, two anti-Jewish reports, and one anti-Hindu report. Nineteen reported hate crimes were directed at the LGBTQ community.
“For those folks who are more so at the margins and have less privilege, I think that their intersectional identities make it even more concerning to them as the rhetoric from the campaigns and from the people supporting the campaigns becomes more intense,” said David Heitstuman, CEO of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.
In a May report, the Leadership Conference Education Fund warned that hate crimes tended to spike around presidential elections in the past four election cycles, citing data from the FBI.
“Movements grounded in attempts to whitewash history and deny the rights of the LGBTQ+ community have turned hate into campaign platforms,” the report said about the current political climate. “Furthermore, the most recent outbreak of violence in the Middle East has created a climate of increased hate targeting Arab, Jewish, and Muslim Americans.”
The report also stated that part of the problem can be attributed to social media platforms, some of which have cut back on personnel and protections dedicated to mitigating the spread of disinformation and hateful rhetoric.
Hate crime reports in California have been increasing since 2014 and spiked between 2020 and 2022. The Sacramento Bee reported that anti-LGBTQ hate crimes almost doubled in 2022.
“I would say with certainty that there’s an increased level of anxiety and concern and experiences of that kind of overt bias and hate-related incidents,” Heitstuman said.
The state Civil Rights Department’s new hate crime reporting hotline received 1,020 reports of hate crimes statewide in its first year, according to a May report marking a year since the hotline’s inception in 2022.
